Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,230
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$5,680
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,708
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
$34,910
Kept after tax
$29,230
Worth in national money
$31,708
State rank
40
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Indiana is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $34,910, ranking 40 of 45 states — about 18.64% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Indiana, this one sits low: 459 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Indiana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $34,910 the take-home is $29,230; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $31,708 would nationally. The average comes to $38,480, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Indiana ranks 40 of 45 for teaching assistants, postsecondary, with a median of $34,910 — about 18.64% 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.
- Teaching assistants, postsecondary occupies position 459 of 493 in Indiana's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for teaching assistants, postsecondary in Indiana, on $34,910, is $29,230 — equivalent to $31,708 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $38,480 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $20,850 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,290 |
| This salary | $34,910 |
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 | $29,230 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,230 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$599 |
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 | $33,665 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$725 |
| 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 teaching assistants, postsecondary in Indiana earn under $34,910 and half over. The published range runs $20,850 at the tenth percentile to $62,290 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Indiana the take-home figure of $29,230, from $34,910, 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 459 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 $31,708, the adjusted value of that $34,910 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 459 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for teaching assistants, postsecondary in Indiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $20,850 to $62,290; 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.
- Take-home for Indiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $29,230 from $34,910. 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 459 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Indiana, so $31,708 — the adjusted value of that $34,910 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 459 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 $38,480, 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 $20,850 at the bottom tenth to $62,290 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $31,708.
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 $29,230 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 $38,480. 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 ($20,850) and the ninetieth ($62,290) 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 $31,708 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 $29,230 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.