Operations Research Analysts in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$66,338
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$18,942
22.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,963
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
$85,280
Kept after tax
$66,338
Worth in national money
$71,963
State rank
28
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Indiana sits in the middle of the pack for operations research analysts. The median is $85,280, ranking 28 of 47 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 83 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 $85,280 you keep $66,338, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $71,963 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $93,070, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Indiana occupies the middle band for operations research analysts: a median of $85,280, ranking 28 of 47. 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, operations research analysts ranks 83 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 operations research analysts on $85,280 is $66,338. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $71,963 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 $93,070 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Operations Research Analysts
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $59,850 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $85,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $133,480 |
| This salary | $85,280 |
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 | $66,338 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,824 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,138 |
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 | $81,746 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,571 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $85,280 as a midpoint for Indiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $59,850 and the ninetieth is $133,480 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Indiana's $66,338, worked from $85,280. 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 83 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $71,963 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 83.
- The Indiana median of $85,280 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $59,850 to $133,480. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Indiana take-home of $66,338, on $85,280 for work ranking 83 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 83 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $71,963, worked from $85,280, 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 83 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 $93,070 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $59,850 and the top tenth $133,480 — 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 $71,963 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 $66,338 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 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $93,070. 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 ($59,850) and the ninetieth ($133,480) 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 $71,963 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 $66,338 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.