Optometrists in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$99,913
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$35,588
26.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$108,384
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
$135,500
Kept after tax
$99,913
Worth in national money
$108,384
State rank
25
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Indiana is 25 of 51 states for optometrists, with a middle wage of $135,500. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Indiana. It ranks 12 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 $135,500 you keep $99,913, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $108,384 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $137,020, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Indiana ranks 25 of 51 for optometrists at $135,500. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Indiana, optometrists ranks 12 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 optometrists on $135,500 is $99,913. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $108,384 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 $137,020 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Optometrists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $76,860 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $135,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $193,270 |
| This salary | $135,500 |
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 | $99,913 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $103,880 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,484 |
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 | $129,695 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,109 |
| 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 optometrists in Indiana earn under $135,500 and half over. The published range runs $76,860 at the tenth percentile to $193,270 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $99,913 take-home in Indiana comes from $135,500. 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 12 of 493.
- Two cautions on $108,384, the adjusted value of that $135,500 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Indiana. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 12 of 493 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for optometrists in Indiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $76,860 to $193,270; 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 $99,913, from $135,500, 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 12 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 25 of 51 for it.
- This $108,384 adjusted figure, worked from $135,500, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 12 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 12 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $76,860, the highest tenth $193,270, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $108,384.
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, $99,913 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.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($76,860) and the ninetieth ($193,270) 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 $108,384 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 $99,913 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.