Employee Cost: Indiana vs Oregon (2026)

Side-by-side comparison of employer costs, payroll taxes, SUTA rates, and workers' comp.

At a $60,000 salary

Indiana saves $1,397/employee/year

$65,285 in Indiana vs $66,682 in Oregon

Indiana

$65,285

1.09x salary

Oregon

$66,682

1.11x salary

Cost Breakdown Comparison

Based on $60,000 annual salary

Cost Component IN OR Diff
Base Salary $60,000 $60,000
Social Security (6.2%) $3,720 $3,720
Medicare (1.45%) $870 $870
FUTA (0.6%) $42 $42
SUTA (State Unemployment) $143 $1,162 -$1,019
Workers' Compensation $510 $648 -$138
State-Mandated Insurance $0 $240 -$240
Total Employer Cost $65,285 $66,682 -$1,397

Tax Rate Comparison

Rate Indiana Oregon
SUTA Rate Range 0.5% – 7.4% 0.7% – 5.4%
SUTA Typical Rate 1.5% 2.2%
SUTA Wage Base $9,500 $52,800
Workers' Comp Rate 0.85% 1.08%
State Income Tax Yes Yes
Paid Family Leave Not required 0.4%

What This Means for Employers

For a business hiring at a $60,000 salary, choosing Indiana over Oregon saves $1,397 per employee per year in employer-side payroll costs alone. For a team of 10, that's $13,971 annually.

The biggest difference comes from SUTA (state unemployment tax) — Indiana charges 1.5% vs Oregon's 2.2%. Note that federal taxes (Social Security, Medicare, FUTA) are identical in both states.

These numbers reflect employer-side costs only and don't include benefits, overhead, or the employee's own tax burden. Use the interactive Employee Cost Calculator to model different salary levels and benefits packages.

Cost Comparison at Different Salary Levels

How the gap changes from $30K to $150K

Salary IN Total OR Total Difference
$30,000 $32,735 $33,441 -$707
$40,000 $43,585 $44,574 -$990
$50,000 $54,435 $55,707 -$1,273
$60,000 $65,285 $66,682 -$1,397
$75,000 $81,560 $83,051 -$1,492
$100,000 $108,685 $110,334 -$1,649
$125,000 $135,810 $137,616 -$1,807
$150,000 $162,935 $164,899 -$1,964

Click any amount to see the full cost breakdown for that salary and state. Amounts shown from the perspective of IN.

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