Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,468
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$6,042
16.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,052
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
$36,510
Kept after tax
$30,468
Worth in national money
$33,052
State rank
45
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Indiana is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $36,510, ranking 45 of 51 states — about 7.31% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Indiana, this one sits low: 436 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $36,510 you keep $30,468, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $33,052 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $41,730, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Indiana ranks 45 of 51 for merchandise displayers and window trimmers, with a median of $36,510 — about 7.31% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Merchandise displayers and window trimmers occupies position 436 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 merchandise displayers and window trimmers on $36,510 is $30,468. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $33,052 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 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,340 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,510 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,120 |
| This salary | $36,510 |
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 | $30,468 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,516 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$620 |
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 | $35,206 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$749 |
| 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 $36,510. The published range is $29,340 up to $64,120, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Indiana's $30,468, worked from $36,510. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 436 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Indiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $33,052, the adjusted value of that $36,510 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 436 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for merchandise displayers and window trimmers in Indiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $29,340 to $64,120. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Indiana take-home of $30,468, on $36,510 for work ranking 436 of 493 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 436 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Indiana, so $33,052 — the adjusted value of that $36,510 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 436 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $41,730 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $29,340 at the bottom tenth to $64,120 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $33,052 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, $30,468 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $41,730. 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 ($29,340) and the ninetieth ($64,120) 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 $33,052 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 $30,468 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.