Social Science Research Assistants in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,343
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$10,677
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,272
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
$57,020
Kept after tax
$46,343
Worth in national money
$50,272
State rank
23
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Indiana pays social science research assistants around $57,020 at the midpoint, 23 of 45 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Indiana reports figures for, this is number 248.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $57,020 you keep $46,343, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $50,272 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $62,450, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For social science research assistants the Indiana median is $57,020, ranking 23 of 45 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In Indiana's occupational distribution, social science research assistants sits at 248 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.
- After federal, FICA and Indiana income tax, retained pay for social science research assistants on $57,020 is $46,343. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $50,272 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 $62,450 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Social Science Research Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,580 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,020 |
| Top tenth earn over | $105,750 |
| This salary | $57,020 |
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 | $46,343 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,996 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$881 |
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 | $54,963 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,066 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of social science research assistants in Indiana earn under $57,020 and half over. The published range runs $30,580 at the tenth percentile to $105,750 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $46,343 take-home in Indiana comes from $57,020. 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 248 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $50,272 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 248.
- Figures are distribution medians for social science research assistants in Indiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $30,580 to $105,750; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $46,343, from $57,020, 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 248 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 23 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $50,272, worked from $57,020, 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 248 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 $62,450, 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 $30,580 at the bottom tenth to $105,750 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $50,272 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $46,343 of this wage survives to your account.
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 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $62,450. 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 ($30,580) and the ninetieth ($105,750) 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 $50,272 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 $46,343 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.