Physics Teachers, Postsecondary in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$78,261
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$24,709
24.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$84,897
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
$102,970
Kept after tax
$78,261
Worth in national money
$84,897
State rank
15
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Indiana pays physics teachers, postsecondary a middle wage of $102,970, ranking 15 of 47 states and sitting about 2.65% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 493 occupations Indiana reports, physics teachers, postsecondary comes in at 45 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $102,970 you keep $78,261, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $84,897 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $107,750, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Indiana's median for physics teachers, postsecondary is $102,970, about 2.65% above the national figure and 15 of 47 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Physics teachers, postsecondary ranks 45 of 493 occupations by median in Indiana, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Indiana income tax, retained pay for physics teachers, postsecondary on $102,970 is $78,261. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $84,897 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 $107,750 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physics Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $102,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $161,080 |
| This salary | $102,970 |
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 | $78,261 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $81,269 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,265 |
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 | $98,694 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,747 |
| 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 $102,970. The published range is $61,600 up to $161,080, 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 $78,261, worked from $102,970. 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 45 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Indiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $84,897, the adjusted value of that $102,970 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 45 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for physics teachers, postsecondary in Indiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $61,600 to $161,080. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Indiana take-home of $78,261, on $102,970 for work ranking 45 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 45 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Indiana, so $84,897 — the adjusted value of that $102,970 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 45 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $107,750, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $61,600 at the bottom tenth to $161,080 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 $84,897 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 $78,261 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $107,750. 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 ($61,600) and the ninetieth ($161,080) 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 $84,897 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 $78,261 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.