Forest and Conservation Technicians in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,872
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$8,788
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,253
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
$48,660
Kept after tax
$39,872
Worth in national money
$43,253
State rank
38
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Indiana. The middle earner gets $48,660. That is 38 of 45 states, and about 10.81% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 308 among 493 occupations Indiana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $48,660 you keep $39,872, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $43,253 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $52,860, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For forest and conservation technicians, Indiana sits in the lower band at $48,660, ranking 38 of 45 and trailing the national median by about 10.81%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 308 of 493 in Indiana places forest and conservation technicians in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Indiana income tax, retained pay for forest and conservation technicians on $48,660 is $39,872. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $43,253 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 $52,860 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Forest and Conservation Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,660 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,010 |
| This salary | $48,660 |
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 | $39,872 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,278 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$775 |
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 | $46,910 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$937 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $48,660 as a midpoint for Indiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,190 and the ninetieth is $74,010 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Indiana the take-home figure of $39,872, from $48,660, 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 308 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 $43,253, the adjusted value of that $48,660 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 308 of 493 in the state.
- The Indiana median of $48,660 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,190 to $74,010. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Indiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $39,872 from $48,660. 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 308 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Indiana, so $43,253 — the adjusted value of that $48,660 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 308 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $52,860, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $34,190 and the top tenth $74,010 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Indiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $43,253 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Indiana adds its own income tax on top — which is why $39,872 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Indiana is $52,860. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($34,190) and the ninetieth ($74,010) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $43,253 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 $39,872 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.