What Food Batchmakers earn in Porter County, IN
According to the latest federal wage data for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area, the median pay for Food Batchmakers in Porter County, IN is $47,660 a year, or $22.91 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $39,024 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Porter County, IN.
The mean wage is $48,490, which is 1.7% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 8,490 people working in this occupation across the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Porter County, IN has roughly 174,818 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Food Batchmakers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $34,760 a year ($16.71 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $61,440 or more ($29.54 an hour). That is a gap of $26,680 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $39,250 at the 25th percentile and $57,090 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.8 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $22.91 an hour or $47,660 a year at the median for Porter County, IN. Before any deductions, that is $3,972 a month, $1,833 every two weeks and $917 each week. After taxes the same job pays $18.76 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Food Batchmakers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Food Batchmakers this way: "Set up and operate equipment that mixes or blends ingredients used in the manufacturing of food products. Includes candy makers and cheese makers."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Record production and test data for each food product batch, such as the ingredients used, temperature, test results, and time cycle"; "Observe gauges and thermometers to determine if the mixing chamber temperature is within specified limits, and turn valves to control the temperature"; "Clean and sterilize vats and factory processing areas"; "Press switches and turn knobs to start, adjust, and regulate equipment, such as beaters, extruders, discharge pipes, and salt pumps".
Job outlook for Food Batchmakers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 176,800 jobs in 2025 to 188,200 in 2035, a change of +6.5%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 23,100 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 13.1% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: moderate-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $42,290 for this occupation; the Porter County, IN median of $47,660 is 12.7% above it.
How pay in Porter County, IN compares
Compared with the Indiana average
A worker in this occupation in Porter County, IN earns $2,029 more than the Indiana average of $45,631, a premium of 4.5%. Over a year that premium is worth $2,029 before tax and roughly $1,661 after tax. Within Indiana, Porter County, IN already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Food Batchmakers is $42,808 across the contiguous United States. At $47,660, Porter County, IN pays $4,853 more, which is 11.3% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Porter County, IN
Among the 618 occupations with published wages in Porter County, IN, Food Batchmakers ranks number 475 by median pay, ahead of about 23% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $173,760 a year, which is $126,100 more than the median for Food Batchmakers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Food Batchmakers earning the Porter County, IN median of $47,660, they add up to $8,636. The result is $39,024 of take-home pay a year ($3,252 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $18 goes to taxes and $82 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 18.1%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $31,910. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,591, an effective 7.5% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,955 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $691. FICA totals $3,646, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Indiana
Indiana income tax on this salary is $1,400 a year, or 2.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 39% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $117 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Porter County, IN
IRS Statistics of Income data for Porter County, IN show an average adjusted gross income of $91,552 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 13.1% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.2%, compared with the 7.5% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Porter County, IN
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Porter County, IN: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $39,024 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Porter County, IN, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,176 a month ($14,112 a year), and at $1,429 for two bedrooms. For Food Batchmakers, a one-bedroom absorbs 36.2% of take-home pay and 29.6% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 7.2% of gross pay for Food Batchmakers in Porter County, IN. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Indiana residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,560 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $366, for $1,927 in total. Gasoline in Indiana averages $3.07 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,421.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $20,896 a year in Porter County, IN. Subtract that from $39,024 of take-home pay and $18,128 remains, which is $1,511 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 38.0% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Porter County, IN
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Porter County, IN: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Porter County, IN, set beside the Indiana and national medians.
Property taxes in Porter County, IN
Homeowners in Porter County, IN pay a median of $2,326 a year in real estate taxes, 44% above the Indiana median of $1,614 and 25% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $281,500, the median tax bill is 0.83% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Food Batchmakers median of $47,660, a tax bill of that size would equal 4.9% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Porter County, IN
Renters in Porter County, IN pay a median gross rent of $1,219 a month in the Census survey, 15% above the Indiana median of $1,062. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,176 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $281,500, 29% above the Indiana median of $218,200. Median household income is $87,972, 22% above the Indiana median of $71,957, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 16.0% of that income.
Commuting in Porter County, IN
Workers in Porter County, IN who travel to a workplace spend an average of 28.4 minutes each way, 18% above the Indiana average of 24.1. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.7 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 9.5% of workers in Porter County, IN work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Food Batchmakers afford to live in Porter County, IN?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $47,660 that ceiling is $1,192 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,176 is $16 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $22.62 an hour; the median for Food Batchmakers is $22.91, which is 1% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $18.76 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 14.5 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,429 a month means $715 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,538 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $23,666.
How fast you can save
At $1,511 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 7 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 14 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Food Batchmakers pay in Porter County, IN
How much do Food Batchmakers make per hour in Porter County, IN?
The median is $22.91 per hour, based on $47,660 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $16.71 at the 10th percentile to $29.54 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Food Batchmakers take home after taxes in Porter County, IN?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $47,660 becomes $39,024 a year. That is $3,252 a month, $1,501 every two weeks or $750 a week.
How much tax do Food Batchmakers pay in Porter County, IN?
Total taxes are $8,636 a year, an effective rate of 18.1%: $3,591 federal income tax, $3,646 FICA and $1,400 Indiana income tax.
Do Food Batchmakers earn more in Porter County, IN than elsewhere in Indiana?
Yes. The local median of $47,660 is +4.5% versus the Indiana average of $45,631, a difference of $2,029 a year.
Can Food Batchmakers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Porter County, IN?
A one-bedroom costs $1,176 a month against take-home pay of $3,252, which is 36.2% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,192 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Food Batchmakers in Porter County, IN?
About $1,511 a month ($18,128 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $20,896 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Porter County, IN at the 30% guideline?
$22.62 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $14,112 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Food Batchmakers is $22.91.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Indiana rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.