Slaughterers and Meat Packers in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,087
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$7,683
17.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,147
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
$43,770
Kept after tax
$36,087
Worth in national money
$39,147
State rank
17
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Indiana is 17 of 47 states for slaughterers and meat packers, with a middle wage of $43,770. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Indiana this is lower-paid work. Of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, slaughterers and meat packers ranks 386. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $43,770 you keep $36,087, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $39,147 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $43,070, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Indiana ranks 17 of 47 for slaughterers and meat packers at $43,770. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Indiana reports, slaughterers and meat packers ranks 386 of 493, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and Indiana income tax, retained pay for slaughterers and meat packers on $43,770 is $36,087. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $39,147 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 $43,070 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Slaughterers and Meat Packers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,770 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,300 |
| This salary | $43,770 |
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 | $36,087 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,349 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$712 |
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 | $42,200 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$861 |
| 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 $43,770. The published range is $36,430 up to $48,300, 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 $36,087, worked from $43,770. 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 386 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Indiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $39,147, the adjusted value of that $43,770 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 386 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for slaughterers and meat packers in Indiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,430 to $48,300. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Indiana take-home of $36,087, on $43,770 for work ranking 386 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 386 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Indiana, so $39,147 — the adjusted value of that $43,770 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 386 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $36,430 at the bottom tenth to $48,300 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Indiana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $39,147 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $36,087.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,430 to $48,300) 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 $39,147 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 $36,087 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.