Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,001
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$6,489
16.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,714
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
$38,490
Kept after tax
$32,001
Worth in national money
$34,714
State rank
22
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Indiana is 22 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $38,490. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Indiana this is lower-paid work. Of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 417. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $38,490 you keep $32,001, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,714 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $39,370, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Indiana ranks 22 of 50 for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service at $38,490. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Indiana reports, mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service ranks 417 of 493, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and Indiana income tax, retained pay for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service on $38,490 is $32,001. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,714 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 $39,370 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,900 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,960 |
| This salary | $38,490 |
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 | $32,001 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,107 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$645 |
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 | $37,114 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$780 |
| 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 $38,490. The published range is $28,900 up to $49,960, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $32,001 take-home in Indiana comes from $38,490. 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 417 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,714 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 417.
- Reported values are medians; for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in Indiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,900 to $49,960. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $32,001, from $38,490, 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 417 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,714, worked from $38,490, 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 417 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $28,900 and the top tenth $49,960, so most people doing this work in Indiana sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $34,714 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $32,001 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,900 to $49,960) 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 $34,714 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 $32,001 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.