Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,310
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$16,510
21.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,508
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
$77,820
Kept after tax
$61,310
Worth in national money
$66,508
State rank
32
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Indiana is 32 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $77,820. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Indiana this is well-paid work. Of 493 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 116 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $77,820 you keep $61,310 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $66,508 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $88,350, since top earners drag the number up.
- Indiana ranks 32 of 50 for psychology teachers, postsecondary at $77,820. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Indiana publishes a median for, psychology teachers, postsecondary sits 116 of 493 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in Indiana is $61,310 after the full tax stack, from $77,820. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $66,508 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $88,350 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,820 |
| Top tenth earn over | $136,980 |
| This salary | $77,820 |
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 | $61,310 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,576 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,084 |
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 | $74,599 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,497 |
| 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 $77,820. The published range is $50,910 up to $136,980, 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 $61,310, worked from $77,820. 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 116 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Indiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $66,508, the adjusted value of that $77,820 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 116 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for psychology teachers, postsecondary in Indiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $50,910 to $136,980. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Indiana take-home of $61,310, on $77,820 for work ranking 116 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 116 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Indiana, so $66,508 — the adjusted value of that $77,820 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 116 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $88,350, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $50,910 at the bottom tenth to $136,980 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 $66,508 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Indiana then takes its own share, leaving $61,310.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 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 $88,350. 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 ($50,910) and the ninetieth ($136,980) 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 $66,508 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 $61,310 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.