Helpers--Production Workers in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,880
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$7,330
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,837
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
$42,210
Kept after tax
$34,880
Worth in national money
$37,837
State rank
20
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Indiana sits in the middle of the pack for helpers--production workers. The median is $42,210, ranking 20 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Indiana, this one sits low: 397 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $42,210 you keep $34,880, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $37,837 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $41,730, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Indiana occupies the middle band for helpers--production workers: a median of $42,210, ranking 20 of 49. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Helpers--production workers occupies position 397 of 493 in Indiana's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Indiana income tax, retained pay for helpers--production workers on $42,210 is $34,880. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $37,837 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 $41,730 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Helpers--Production Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,270 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,210 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,740 |
| This salary | $42,210 |
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 | $34,880 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,096 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$692 |
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 | $40,697 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$837 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of helpers--production workers in Indiana earn under $42,210 and half over. The published range runs $31,270 at the tenth percentile to $50,740 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $34,880 take-home in Indiana comes from $42,210. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 397 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,837 uses one figure for the whole of Indiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 397.
- Figures are distribution medians for helpers--production workers in Indiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,270 to $50,740; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $34,880, from $42,210, assumes a single Indiana filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 397 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 20 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,837, worked from $42,210, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Indiana address, on work sitting at 397 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,270 at the tenth percentile, $50,740 at the ninetieth.
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 $37,837 in national terms.
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, $34,880 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,270 to $50,740) 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 $37,837 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 $34,880 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.