Firefighters in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,801
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$11,979
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,109
Indiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Indiana — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$62,780
Kept after tax
$50,801
Worth in national money
$55,109
State rank
15
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Indiana is one of the better-paying states for firefighters. The middle earner takes $62,780, which ranks 15 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 5.9% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Indiana reports figures for, this is number 188.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $62,780 you keep $50,801, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $55,109 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $62,420, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Indiana ranks 15 of 50 states publishing a median for firefighters, at $62,780 — about 5.9% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In Indiana's occupational distribution, firefighters sits at 188 of 493 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Indiana income tax, retained pay for firefighters on $62,780 is $50,801. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $55,109 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $62,420 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Firefighters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,460 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $62,780 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,890 |
| This salary | $62,780 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Indiana | $50,801 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,624 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$955 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $60,512 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,155 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Indiana earn less than $62,780. The published range is $38,460 up to $81,890, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Indiana the take-home figure of $50,801, from $62,780, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 188 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Indiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $55,109, the adjusted value of that $62,780 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 188 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for firefighters in Indiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,460 to $81,890. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Indiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $50,801 from $62,780. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 188 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Indiana, so $55,109 — the adjusted value of that $62,780 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 188 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $38,460 at the tenth percentile, $81,890 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Indiana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $55,109 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Indiana's own levy, $50,801 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,460 to $81,890) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Indiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Indiana's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $55,109 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $50,801 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Indiana income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.