What is the median Indiana salary in 2026?

Indiana's median household income lands near $66,000 — close to $14,000 below the US median ($80,000). Per-capita personal income is ~$58,000. Statewide medians; Carmel, Zionsville, Fishers, and Bloomington's Sherwood Hills run 80-130% higher; rural northern counties (Pulaski, Starke, Newton) and southern Appalachian counties (Crawford, Switzerland, Perry) run 30-45% lower. Hamilton County (Carmel / Fishers) median household income runs ~70% above Marion County (Indianapolis proper) — among the largest within-state suburb-to-urban income gaps in the Midwest. The phrase 'average IN salary' usually conflates median with arithmetic mean — pulled up by Lilly executive comp, Cummins senior engineering, and Carmel HQ-cluster professional pay.

How does Indiana's county income tax (LIT) work?

Every Indiana county levies its own Local Income Tax under IC 6-3.6. Rates run from 0.5% (rural counties) to 3.38%; the typical Indianapolis ring sits at 1.10-2.25%. Marion (Indianapolis) 2.02%; Hamilton (Carmel / Fishers) 1.10%; Hendricks 1.65%; Hancock 1.94%; Boone 1.50%; Madison 2.25%; Johnson 1.40%; Tippecanoe (Lafayette) 1.10%; Monroe (Bloomington) 2.035%; Allen (Fort Wayne) 1.59%; Lake (Gary) 1.50%; Bartholomew (Columbus IN) 1.75%; Vanderburgh (Evansville) 1.20%; Elkhart 2.00%. LIT applies to IN AGI same way state tax does. Where you live in Indiana matters more than the headline 2.95% suggests.

How much do Eli Lilly senior researchers actually make?

Eli Lilly Indianapolis (~13K HQ of ~40K worldwide) compensates senior researchers at near-Bay-Area-pharma rates despite Indianapolis's substantially lower cost of living. CEO David Ricks reported $26M in 2023 comp. Senior VPs at the diabetes / oncology / immunology franchises clear $1.5-4M all-in. Principal scientists and senior directors at the GLP-1 / Alzheimer's / cardiometabolic R&D groups cluster at $300-600K. The Mounjaro / Zepbound boom lifted senior R&D and commercial-finance comp substantially; Lilly's market cap roughly tripled 2022-2024 on GLP-1 demand, and equity vesting has run highly favorably for senior directors over that window.

Is Cummins really an Indianapolis employer or just Columbus?

Cummins is unambiguously Columbus IN — global HQ in Columbus (Bartholomew County, population ~50K, about 50 miles south of Indianapolis on I-65). ~10K of ~70K worldwide work in Columbus. Most senior engineering, executive leadership, and corporate functions are Columbus-based. Indianapolis hosts Cummins's distribution and engine sales / parts operations but is not the engineering or executive center. Columbus's population-to-HQ-scale ratio is one of the most extreme in the US — comparable to Bentonville (Walmart) or Akron (Goodyear). The mid-century architectural-patronage tradition Cummins funded since the 1950s (Saarinen, Pei, Venturi commissions) is genuinely worth a weekend visit.

How does IN compare to KY, OH, MI, or IL for take-home?

State-only: IN's 2.95% flat beats MI (4.25%) and IL (4.95%) but lags KY (4% flat with $3,180 SD that effectively beats IN at $100K) and OH (effective ~2.5% at $100K). The all-in picture flips depending on residence: Marion County (Indianapolis) 2.02% LIT makes Indianapolis residents the worst-positioned among IN metros; Hamilton County (Carmel / Fishers) at 1.10% gives the cleanest all-in number. Versus peers' city stacks: Indianapolis-Marion ≈ Cincinnati ≈ Louisville; Indianapolis-Hamilton beats all of them. The cleanest single state-and-local stack in the region belongs to non-Detroit Michigan and non-Chicago Illinois.

Indiana Salary Guide — 2026

Indiana Salary Guide 2026: Take-Home + Professions

Q: Is Indiana retirement-friendly?

Yes, with caveats. Social Security is fully exempt. Military pension exemption phased in fully by 2024. Property tax effective rates run ~0.75% statewide, below the national average. No state estate or inheritance tax (the state inheritance tax was repealed 2013). The caveat: traditional pension, 401(k), and IRA distributions remain taxable at the 2.95% flat rate (no separate retirement-income deduction beyond Social Security and military). Compare to GA's $65K exemption at 65+ or SC's $15K deduction at 65+, both of which beat IN for retirees with substantial private-pension or 401(k) income. IN beats GA and SC on the flat-rate baseline, so the math depends on retirement-income mix.

Indiana's salary landscape is anchored by Eli Lilly's global pharmaceutical headquarters in Indianapolis, Cummins's diesel-engine empire in Columbus, Purdue's research-engineering pipeline in West Lafayette, and Elkhart County's 80% share of US RV manufacturing. The 2.95% state flat rate (2026; phasing to 2.9% in 2027 per HEA 1001 of 2023) sits among the country's lowest, but the headline misses the local-income-tax stack — every Indiana county levies its own LIT ranging from 0.5% to 3.38%, with Marion County (Indianapolis) at 2.02% and Madison County at the high end. Indiana uses federal AGI as the starting point with a small $1,000 personal exemption rather than a traditional standard deduction. Median household income lands near $66,000, lifted by the Indianapolis pharma-and-insurance professional core but pulled down by rural northern and southern counties.

See Indiana Tax Guide →Indiana Paycheck Calculator →

Section 2

Indiana take-home pay in 2026 at five common salary tiers

Figures use 2026 federal brackets per Rev. Proc. 2025-32, 6.2% Social Security to the $184,500 wage base, 1.45% Medicare, and Indiana's 2.95% flat rate applied to AGI after the $1,000 IN personal exemption. Single filer, federal standard deduction ($16,100), zero 401(k). IN does not offer a traditional standard deduction — federal AGI flows directly to IN AGI minus the small personal exemption. Local-income-tax (LIT) is layered separately in Section 6 — Marion County (Indianapolis) 2.02% adds ~$2,000 at $100K; Hamilton County (Carmel / Fishers) 1.10% adds ~$1,090.

Gross salary	Take-home (single)	Note
$50,000	$40,909	$3,409/month state-only — workable in Fort Wayne, South Bend, or Evansville; tight inside downtown Indianapolis or Carmel post-2022 housing run-up. Marion County residents subtract another ~$1,000 LIT.
$75,000	$59,409	$4,951/month state-only — middle of the road statewide; covers Indianapolis's Broad Ripple, Fountain Square, or Carmel's older neighborhoods comfortably. Marion County residents subtract ~$1,500 LIT.
$100,000	$76,259	$6,355/month state-only — Indianapolis-metro Tier-1 comfort. Marion County (Indianapolis proper) subtracts another ~$2,000 LIT; Hamilton County (Carmel / Fishers) ~$1,090; Tippecanoe (Lafayette) ~$1,090.
$150,000	$109,395	$9,116/month state-only — Carmel's Village of WestClay, Zionsville, Fishers's Geist Reservoir, or Bloomington's Sherwood Hills accessible. Marion County LIT subtracts ~$3,000 more.
$200,000	$143,056	$11,921/month state-only after taxes. Additional Medicare 0.9% kicks in above $200K — not yet active at this exact threshold.

Two-earner married households see different FICA math because each spouse has their own Social Security wage base. Indiana's 2.95% flat rate alone is among the country's lowest — but combined with the 0.5-3.38% county LIT, Indianapolis-Marion residents pay an effective ~5.0% state-and-local combined. Suburban Indianapolis (Hamilton / Boone / Hendricks) runs ~4.0-4.6% combined; rural low-LIT counties run ~3.5%. Use the calculator at the top for your specific filing status, 401(k) contribution rate, and HSA inputs.

Section 3

Where Indiana's highest salaries cluster — by role and employer

Median compensation bands for senior practitioners and named IN employers. Typical pay ranges, not entry-level — junior versions of each role generally pay 40-60% less.

Pharma executive — Eli Lilly Indianapolis HQ

$400K – $30M+ all-in

Eli Lilly Indianapolis (~13K HQ of ~40K worldwide). CEO David Ricks reported $26M in 2023 comp; senior VPs at the diabetes / oncology / immunology franchises clear $1.5-4M. Lilly's GLP-1 portfolio (Mounjaro / Zepbound) lifted senior R&D and commercial comp substantially 2024-2026.

Specialty physician (cardiology, oncology, ortho)

$400K – $700K

IU Health Indianapolis (~36K, the state's largest healthcare employer), Community Health Network, St. Vincent Indianapolis (Ascension), Franciscan Health, Parkview Health Fort Wayne. IU Health academic tier runs below private practice; Community and St. Vincent private cardiology / oncology reach the higher end.

BigLaw partner — Indianapolis equity tier

$300K – $1M+

Faegre Drinker Indianapolis, Ice Miller, Barnes & Thornburg, Bose McKinney + Evans, Krieg DeVault. Mid-tier nationally — most partners clear $400-700K; the $1M+ outlier in narrow life-sciences and Cummins-Lilly transactional work.

Cummins senior executive / engineering director

$200K – $2M+ all-in

Cummins Inc Columbus IN (~10K Columbus HQ of ~70K worldwide). CEO Jennifer Rumsey reported $13M in 2023 comp. Senior engineering directors on diesel / hydrogen / EV powertrain programs clear $300-500K. Columbus IN's mid-century architectural-patronage tradition pulls senior recruiting beyond what the city's metro size would suggest.

Roche Diagnostics senior / pharma analytics

$170K – $300K + equity

Roche Diagnostics Indianapolis NA HQ (~5K), plus Eli Lilly analytics. Indianapolis runs the deepest pharma-finance analytics cluster in the Midwest, anchored by Lilly's commercial finance plus Roche US commercial.

Anesthesiologist / Anesthesia CRNA

$420K – $620K (MD) · $200K – $280K (CRNA)

IU Health, Community Health Network, St. Vincent, Franciscan, Parkview. IN is one of ~22 states allowing independent CRNA practice. CRNAs are the highest-paid nursing specialty by a wide margin.

Auto engineer / manufacturing senior — Subaru / Toyota / Honda

$120K – $220K

Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA Lafayette ~6K — Forester + Ascent + Outback), Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana (TMMI Princeton ~5K — Highlander + Sienna), Honda Manufacturing of Indiana (Greensburg ~2.5K — Civic + CR-V hybrid), Stellantis Kokomo Transmission ~7K.

Insurance executive — Elevance Health (Anthem) Indianapolis HQ

$250K – $2M+ all-in

Elevance Health (formerly Anthem) Indianapolis HQ (~12K of ~100K nationally). CEO Gail Boudreaux reported $20M in 2023 comp. Plus Lincoln Financial (post-2020 partial Philly relocation), OneAmerica, CNO Financial Carmel HQ.

Senior software engineer / staff — Salesforce / Genesys cluster

$170K – $320K + equity

Salesforce Indianapolis Tower (~2K post-2013 ExactTarget acquisition), Genesys, Angi (formerly Angie's List), Roche Diagnostics digital, Lilly digital health. Indianapolis tech runs below Bay Area scale but competitive with Chicago and Minneapolis at staff / principal IC tier.

Specialty nurse — ICU, ED, OR

$90K – $140K

IU Health, Community Health Network, St. Vincent, Franciscan, Parkview. Magnet-hospital differentials add 15-25%; CRNA path adds another $80-150K. Indianapolis hospital comp runs slightly below Chicago and Minneapolis on COL offsets.

Section 4

And where Indiana pays the least — typical floor jobs

Indiana's state minimum wage remains $7.25 — the federal floor since 2009. IN has not raised the state minimum since 2008, putting it among the lowest in the Midwest (WI, IA, KY, OH also at the federal floor; IL and MI both lift above $13 by 2026). The tipped sub-minimum is the federal $2.13 floor. These bands reflect that low floor plus modest skill premiums and are full-time annualized — many of these jobs run part-time in practice.

Retail cashier / sales associate

$25K – $32K

Walmart, Kroger, Meijer (Michigan-based with heavy IN presence), Marsh Supermarkets descendants, Dollar General. Indianapolis-metro retail is the largest single low-wage sector by employment volume.

Food service / fast-food worker

$25K – $33K

Indianapolis chains and independents. IN tipped minimum at the federal $2.13 floor; restaurant servers on Mass Ave, Broad Ripple, Bloomington's Kirkwood, or West Lafayette's Chauncey Hill often clear $40-55K after tips on volume.

Home health aide / personal care aide

$26K – $34K

Indiana's aging population and Medicaid expansion sustain steady home-health demand. BAYADA, BrightStar, Visiting Angels, plus a long tail of small operators. Indianapolis-metro suburbs (Hamilton County) run slightly higher rates on retirement-population density.

Childcare worker / preschool aide

$25K – $32K

Bright Horizons, KinderCare, La Petite Academy, plus thousands of small operators. IN's credential-to-pay ratio is poor; CDA-credentialed aides rarely clear $30K. Indianapolis's professional-class growth has not yet flowed through to childcare wages.

Hospitality housekeeping / hotel staff

$25K – $33K

Marriott, Hilton, JW Marriott Indianapolis (~1,000 employees), Conrad Indianapolis, Indianapolis Motor Speedway-adjacent hotels during May. The Indy 500 + Brickyard 400 + NCAA Final Four annual cycle bids up May / March hospitality pay above the year-round floor.

RV / manufactured-housing line worker — Elkhart County

$38K – $58K

Thor Industries Elkhart HQ (~15K), Forest River Elkhart, Jayco Middlebury, plus 100+ smaller RV manufacturers. Elkhart County builds 80%+ of US RV production — line workers run above retail floor on piecework / bonus structure but the work is highly cyclical (Elkhart unemployment hit 20%+ in 2008-2009).

Section 5

Indiana's economy — pharma Indianapolis, engines Columbus, Subaru Lafayette, and the RV capital

Indiana splits into four practical economic zones. Indianapolis metro (Marion, Hamilton, Hendricks, Hancock, Johnson, Madison, Boone counties) anchors the state's pharma, insurance, professional-services, and corporate-relocation core. Eli Lilly's global HQ (~13K Indianapolis of ~40K worldwide) is the city's largest private employer; the GLP-1 portfolio (Mounjaro / Zepbound) drove explosive growth through 2024-2026. Elevance Health (Anthem) HQ runs ~12K Indianapolis of ~100K nationally. Roche Diagnostics North America HQ adds ~5K; Salesforce Indianapolis Tower (~2K via the 2013 ExactTarget acquisition) anchors downtown tech. IU Health (~36K) is the state's largest healthcare employer. Carmel and Fishers (Hamilton County north suburbs) hold the highest-income suburbs in the state — Hamilton's median runs ~70% above Marion's.

Columbus IN (Bartholomew County, ~50K) punches far above its weight as Cummins Inc's global HQ (~10K Columbus of ~70K worldwide). The diesel-engine, generator, and emerging hydrogen-and-EV powertrain programs run a deep senior engineering bench, plus Cummins's 1950s-onward architectural-patronage tradition pulls professional recruiting. Lafayette and West Lafayette (Tippecanoe County) run on Purdue University (~50K students, ~16K employees) and Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA, ~6K — the largest Subaru assembly plant outside Japan), plus Caterpillar Lafayette and Wabash National. Fort Wayne (Allen County) anchors BAE Systems defense electronics, Lincoln Financial Group (post-2020 partial Philly relocation), Parkview Health, and GM Fort Wayne Assembly (Silverado / Sierra).

Elkhart County (RV capital) builds over 80% of US RV manufacturing — Thor Industries HQ (~15K), Forest River, Jayco, plus 100+ smaller manufacturers. RV demand boomed 2020-2022 then collapsed 2023-2024 before partial recovery — Elkhart unemployment is highly cyclical. Northwest Indiana (Lake County / Gary / Hammond) runs on integrated steel (US Steel Gary Works ~3K — the largest integrated steel mill in the US; ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor ~5K) and oil refining (BP Whiting ~1.6K — the largest US Midwest refinery). Bloomington runs on Indiana University (~10K employees) plus Cook Group medical devices (~12K Indiana). Evansville (Vanderburgh County) runs on Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana (Princeton, ~5K) and Berry Global HQ.

Section 6

How Indiana tax shapes your actual take-home

Indiana's 2.95% state flat rate is the endpoint of HEA 1001 of 2023's accelerated phase-down — schedule: 3.23% (2022) → 3.15% (2023) → 3.05% (2024) → 3.00% (2025) → 2.95% (2026) → 2.9% (2027). The state's flat rate sits among the country's lowest, but the headline misses the local-income-tax stack that hits every Indiana resident. Each of Indiana's 92 counties levies its own LIT, ranging from 0.5% (rural) to 3.38%, with the typical Indianapolis ring at 1.10-2.25%. Marion County (Indianapolis) 2.02%; Hamilton (Carmel / Fishers) 1.10%; Hendricks 1.65%; Hancock 1.94%; Boone 1.50%; Madison 2.25%; Tippecanoe (Lafayette) 1.10%; Monroe (Bloomington) 2.035%; Allen (Fort Wayne) 1.59%; Lake (Gary / Hammond) 1.50%.

Indiana uses federal AGI as the starting point with a small $1,000 personal exemption per filer ($1,500 per dependent) rather than a traditional standard deduction. Most filers see effective IN state-tax rates close to the headline 2.95% because the $1,000 exemption shaves only ~$30 off the bill. Federal pre-tax 401(k), HSA, and traditional IRA deductions all reduce IN AGI through federal conformity. The state offers a renter's deduction (up to $3,000) and an Indiana 529 credit (20% of contributions up to $1,000 credit per filer) — IN is one of the more generous 529-credit states.

Indiana has been moving toward retiree-friendly status through the 2020s. Social Security is fully exempt from IN tax. Military pension exemption phased in fully by 2024 (now fully exempt). Traditional pension and 401(k) / IRA distributions remain taxable at the 2.95% flat rate (no separate retirement-income deduction beyond Social Security and military), keeping IN below GA's $65K retirement-income exemption tier but above states that fully tax retirement income. Property tax effective rates run ~0.75% statewide — modest, below the national average. No state estate or inheritance tax (the state inheritance tax was repealed 2013).

Section 7

$100,000 in Indiana vs Midwest peer states — same gross, different take-home

Single filer, $100,000 gross, no 401(k) contribution, federal standard deduction. State tax only (no LIT or city stack) — federal and FICA are identical across all five. IN, KY, OH, and MI all levy local income taxes that materially shift the math; Marion County (Indianapolis) at 2.02% LIT means $76,259 state-only becomes $74,259 all-in for an Indianapolis resident. The cleanest all-in numbers belong to Hamilton (Carmel / Fishers) at 1.10% LIT and Tippecanoe (Lafayette) at 1.10%.

Indiana (baseline, state only)

Take-home ~$76,259

State tax ~$2,921 (2.95% × $99,000 after $1,000 PE). Marion County 2.02% LIT subtracts another ~$2,000; Hamilton County 1.10% subtracts ~$1,090; rural low-LIT counties subtract ~$500.

Kentucky

+$2,218 vs IN state-only

KY 4% flat (2026) with $3,180 SD — state-only ~$78,477. Louisville 2.2% subtracts another ~$2,156 — Louisville residents end up roughly tied with Indianapolis-Marion; Bowling Green / Lexington (no city tax) save ~$2,200 vs Indianapolis.

Ohio

+$921 vs IN state-only

OH progressive top 3.5% — effective ~2.5% at $100K. State-only ~$77,180. Then city stacks: Cleveland 2.5%, Cincinnati 2.1%, Columbus 2.5% — Cincinnati residents end up roughly tied with Indianapolis-Marion.

Michigan

−$1,078 vs IN state-only

MI 4.25% flat with $5,900 PE — tax ~$4,000 at $100K. Take-home ~$75,181. Then city: Detroit 2.4%, Grand Rapids 1.5%. Detroit residents end up well below Indianapolis-Marion.

Illinois

−$1,895 vs IN state-only

IL 4.95% flat with $2,775 PE. Take-home ~$74,364. No Chicago city income tax. IL property tax (~2.1% effective, #2 nationally) bites separately if homeowner.