Statewide pay Government data
Diesel mechanics in Indiana earn a statewide median of $60,610 a year, 0% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #29 of 50 states and DC. About 8,840 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near Indiana
See all states on the diesel mechanic overview.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes diesel mechanic pay for 12 Indiana metros. The highest-paying is Indianapolis at $61,710, followed by Fort Wayne and Lafayette.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| IndianapolisINDIANA · IN | $61,710 | $64,485 | 2,850 |
| Fort WayneINDIANA · IN | $60,210 | $65,041 | 780 |
| LafayetteINDIANA · IN | $60,200 | $64,433 | 210 |
| ElkhartINDIANA · IN | $60,130 | $66,571 | 430 |
| South BendINDIANA · IN | $59,910 | $64,518 | 350 |
| Michigan CityINDIANA · IN | $59,340 | $64,724 | 110 |
| MuncieINDIANA · IN | $58,510 | $66,377 | 100 |
| EvansvilleINDIANA · IN | $57,820 | $63,172 | 330 |
| Terre HauteINDIANA · IN | $57,390 | $65,367 | 170 |
| BloomingtonINDIANA · IN | $57,080 | $60,031 | 80 |
| KokomoINDIANA · IN | $56,690 | $63,236 | 60 |
| ColumbusINDIANA · IN | $55,470 | $59,643 | 80 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
Pay outside the cities Government data
BLS also reports pay for Indiana's rural (nonmetropolitan) regions.
BLS OEWS nonmetropolitan areas, May 2025.
The job (national)
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul buses and trucks, or maintain and repair any type of diesel engines. Includes mechanics working primarily with automobile or marine diesel engines.
Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3.6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,400 openings a year. Typical training: long-term on-the-job training.
Nationally, diesel mechanics have 163 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.9× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
What the work is like Government data
How often diesel mechanics deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes medium preparation (vocational training or an apprenticeship, often 1–2+ years).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Registered apprenticeships Government data
Of diesel mechanic apprentices in Indiana who finished or left a registered program in fiscal years 2020–2024, 28% completed (U.S.: 66%), about 36 graduates a year. The typical program runs 6,000 hours, about 3 years of full-time work. Search open registered programs near you on the official Apprenticeship Finder.
U.S. Department of Labor, RAPIDS apprentice records (Completion Rate Analysis), FY2020–2024 exits.
Serious injuries & deaths reported to OSHA Government data
Indiana runs its own workplace-safety program (an OSHA State Plan), so its injury reports aren't in the federal dataset. Nationally, in states federal OSHA covers, truck and auto repair shops filed 277 severe injury reports from 2015 to 2024; the most common cause was contact with objects and equipment (55%). OSHA also opened 3 fatality investigations at truck and auto repair shops in Indiana over the same years (federal and state programs).
OSHA Severe Injury Reports, January 2015–December 2024 (states under federal OSHA only).
Fatality investigations: OSHA Fatality Inspection Data, events 2015–2024, all states.
Where to train in Indiana Government data
4 schools in Indiana offer vehicle maintenance and repair programs below the bachelor's level, 2 of them at public colleges. Many people in this trade learn through an apprenticeship instead; a program can shorten it or get you hired as a helper.
Where published, graduates earned a median of $48,352 in their first year out.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, IN · Public | Certificate | $14,023 | 796 | $41,197 |
| Lincoln College of Technology-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Private for-profit | Certificate | $35,419 | 169 | $41,342 |
| Vincennes University Vincennes, IN · Public | Associate degree | $21,121 | 102 | $60,475 |
| Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, IN · Public | Associate degree | $14,023 | 87 | $48,343 |
| Lincoln College of Technology-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Private for-profit | Associate degree | $35,419 | 79 | $48,352 |
| Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Private for-profit | Associate degree | $35,633 | 67 | — |
| Vincennes University Vincennes, IN · Public | Certificate | $21,121 | 57 | $72,802 |
| Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Private for-profit | Certificate | $35,633 | 48 | $59,965 |
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (data updated October 2026). Cost is the school's average yearly cost of attendance before financial aid; earnings are the median for graduates one year after finishing, shown only where the school has enough graduates to publish. “—” means not published.
Licensing in Indiana Official source
The main state licensing office in Indiana is the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. The state licenses plumbers; most other trades are licensed locally. It can point you to the right license for diesel mechanics.
Official Indiana licensing site ↗
Requirements for diesel mechanics vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 8.3% of wage and salary workers in Indiana were union members, below the U.S. rate of about 10% (#27 of 51 states and D.C.), and 9.6% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only diesel mechanics.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in Indiana
All trades in Indiana.