Can a Materials Scientist afford to live in Indianapolis?
Excellent52% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Materials Scientist · Indianapolis
$81,148
Income tax (~24% effective)
United States
– $19,492
Take-home pay
$5,138/mo
$61,656
Living costs (1 person)
$2,490/mo · derived
– $29,880
Savings potential
$2,648/mo · 52% of take-home
$31,776
Single professional, after-tax. Salary − tax − living costs = what you could save each year.
Full salary breakdown →Is this a good salary in Indianapolis? →Compare Indianapolis with another city →
How we calculated this
• Salary: BLS OES median for Materials Scientist, adjusted for Indianapolis.
• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~24%). Official calculator.
• Living costs: derived from cost-of-living index for a single professional.
Planning estimates, not financial or tax advice. Updated 2026. Your situation will differ.