Recreational Therapists in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$43,827
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$9,943
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,543
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
$53,770
Kept after tax
$43,827
Worth in national money
$47,543
State rank
33
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Indiana is among the lower-paying states for recreational therapists. The middle earner takes $53,770, ranking 33 of 48 states — about 13.22% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Indiana reports figures for, this is number 266.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $53,770 you keep $43,827 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $47,543 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $55,700, since top earners drag the number up.
- Indiana ranks 33 of 48 for recreational therapists, with a median of $53,770 — about 13.22% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- In Indiana's occupational distribution, recreational therapists sits at 266 of 493 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay in Indiana is $43,827 after the full tax stack, from $53,770. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $47,543 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $55,700 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Recreational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,550 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $53,770 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,750 |
| This salary | $53,770 |
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 | $43,827 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,384 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$840 |
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 | $51,833 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,016 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $53,770 as a midpoint for Indiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $38,550 and the ninetieth is $76,750 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $43,827 take-home in Indiana comes from $53,770. 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 266 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $47,543 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 266.
- The Indiana median of $53,770 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $38,550 to $76,750. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $43,827, from $53,770, 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 266 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 33 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $47,543, worked from $53,770, 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 266 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 $55,700, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $38,550 at the tenth percentile, $76,750 at the ninetieth.
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 $47,543 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 $43,827.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 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 $55,700. 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 ($38,550 to $76,750) 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 $47,543 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 $43,827 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.