Workers in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $30.25 in May 2024, compared to the nationwide average of $32.66, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Julie Wilson noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($63.14), legal ($56.74), and healthcare practitioners and technical ($50.20). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($15.70) and personal care and service ($17.17). (See table A.)

Transportation and material moving occupations accounted for 12.7 percent of Indianapolis area employment, followed by office and administrative support occupations (11.7 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.8 percent) and life, physical, and social science (1.0 percent).

One occupational group—transportation and material moving—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Indianapolis had 139,660 jobs in transportation and material moving, accounting for 12.7 percent of local area employment, compared to the 8.9-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $23.11, compared to the national wage of $23.44.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the transportation and material moving group included laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand (46,530); stockers and order fillers (22,000); and heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (19,340). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were transportation inspectors ($44.59) and aircraft cargo handling supervisors ($38.75). At the lower end of the wage scale were parking attendants ($14.93). (Detailed data for the transportation and material moving occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0026900.)

Location quotients allow us to explore the occupational make-up of a metropolitan area by comparing the composition of jobs in an area relative to the national average. (See table 1.) For example, a location quotient of 2.00 indicates that an occupation accounts for twice the share of employment in the area than it does nationally. In the Indianapolis area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the transportation and material moving group. For instance, laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand, were employed at 2.19 times the national rate in Indianapolis, and industrial truck and tractor operators, at 1.97 times the U.S. average. Cleaners of vehicles and equipment had a location quotient of 0.97 in Indianapolis, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

The statistics in this release are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support. State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data: in this case, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OEWS data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 530 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-digit, most 4-digit, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels; and national estimates by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. Full OEWS data tables are available online.

Additional information about the OEWS estimates and methodology is available in the national Technical Notes. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 65.7 percent based on establishments and 65.9 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area included 5,271 establishments with a response rate of 70 percent.

Metropolitan area definitions

The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

The Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Boone County, Brown County, Hamilton County, Hancock County, Hendricks County, Johnson County, Madison County, Marion County, Morgan County, Shelby County, and Tipton County.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data, as well as general program documentation, are available on the OEWS website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.