Power Plant Operators in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$80,978
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$26,023
24.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$87,843
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
$107,000
Kept after tax
$80,978
Worth in national money
$87,843
State rank
14
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Indiana pays power plant operators a middle wage of $107,000, ranking 14 of 49 states and sitting about 4.86% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Indiana. It ranks 33 out of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $107,000 you keep $80,978 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $87,843 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $103,120.
- Indiana's median for power plant operators is $107,000, about 4.86% above the national figure and 14 of 49 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Within Indiana, power plant operators ranks 33 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.
- Retained pay in Indiana is $80,978 after the full tax stack, from $107,000. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $87,843 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $103,120 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Power Plant Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $76,700 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $107,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $123,540 |
| This salary | $107,000 |
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 | $80,978 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $84,105 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,294 |
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 | $102,555 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,787 |
| 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 $107,000. The published range is $76,700 up to $123,540, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Indiana the take-home figure of $80,978, from $107,000, 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 33 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Indiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $87,843, the adjusted value of that $107,000 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 33 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for power plant operators in Indiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $76,700 to $123,540. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Indiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $80,978 from $107,000. 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 33 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Indiana, so $87,843 — the adjusted value of that $107,000 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 33 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 $103,120, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $76,700 at the bottom tenth to $123,540 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 $87,843.
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, $80,978 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $103,120. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($76,700 to $123,540) 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 $87,843 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 $80,978 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.