Can a Research Scientist afford to live in Indianapolis?
Excellent47% of take-home left to save — you can save aggressively here.
Median salary (gross)
Research Scientist · Indianapolis
$73,220
Income tax (~23% effective)
United States
– $16,813
Take-home pay
$4,701/mo
$56,407
Living costs (1 person)
$2,490/mo · derived
– $29,880
Savings potential
$2,211/mo · 47% of take-home
$26,527
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 Research Scientist, adjusted for Indianapolis.
• Tax: United States single-filer effective rate (~23%). 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.