Materials Engineers in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$77,014
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$24,106
23.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$83,544
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
$101,120
Kept after tax
$77,014
Worth in national money
$83,544
State rank
28
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Indiana sits in the middle of the pack for materials engineers. The median is $101,120, ranking 28 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Indiana. It ranks 52 out of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $101,120 you keep $77,014, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $83,544 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $103,160, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Indiana occupies the middle band for materials engineers: a median of $101,120, ranking 28 of 45. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Within Indiana, materials engineers ranks 52 of 493 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and Indiana income tax, retained pay for materials engineers on $101,120 is $77,014. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $83,544 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 $103,160 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Materials Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $67,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $101,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $131,980 |
| This salary | $101,120 |
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 | $77,014 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $79,968 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,252 |
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 | $96,922 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,729 |
| 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 materials engineers in Indiana earn under $101,120 and half over. The published range runs $67,430 at the tenth percentile to $131,980 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Indiana the take-home figure of $77,014, from $101,120, 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 52 of 493 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $83,544 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 52.
- Figures are distribution medians for materials engineers in Indiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $67,430 to $131,980; 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.
- Take-home for Indiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $77,014 from $101,120. 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 52 of 493 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $83,544, worked from $101,120, 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 52 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $67,430 at the bottom tenth to $131,980 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $83,544.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Indiana then takes its own share, leaving $77,014.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 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 ($67,430 to $131,980) 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 $83,544 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 $77,014 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.