What skilled trades pay in Indiana, where the jobs are and how work is changing, from 39 public government sources. The best-paying trade here is electrical lineworker at a $102,040 median. For every trade and metro, start from the Indiana pay page.
How Indiana compares
25 of the 42 trades we track in Indiana pay more than in a typical U.S. metro. The biggest premiums are for heavy equipment operator (+33%), plumber (+24%) and wind turbine technician (+21%), and the biggest gaps for rigger (-24%) and solar installer (-21%). Prices in Indiana's metros run about 8% below the U.S. average, and a typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,034 a month (U.S. metros: $1,097).
Best-paying trades in Indiana
Statewide median pay, BLS May 2025. The lowest-paying trade we track here is landscaper at $38,070.
Every trade in Indiana
Statewide medians and jobs, BLS OEWS May 2025. “vs. U.S.” compares with the typical U.S. metro median for the trade.
Where the jobs are
- Maintenance Technician: 34,480 jobs
- Construction Laborer: 28,600 jobs
- Landscaper: 19,260 jobs
- Electrician: 19,020 jobs
- Auto Mechanic: 16,480 jobs
Indiana metros, best pay first
Ranked by how each metro's trade pay compares with all U.S. metros, averaged across trades.
Construction hiring
- South Bend: +11.7% (6,893 workers)
- Fort Wayne: +4.3% (13,160 workers)
- Indianapolis: +2.7% (29,378 workers)
- Evansville: -1.8% (8,664 workers)
Change in private construction jobs from a year earlier, 2026 Q1, metros with at least 5,000 construction workers (BLS QCEW).
Unions
8.3% of Indiana workers belong to a union (9.6% are covered by a union contract), compared with about 10% nationally (all jobs, 2025).
Apprenticeships
Registered apprentices in Indiana who finished or left a program in FY2020–2024 completed most often in elevator installer (75%), electrical lineworker (74%) and heavy equipment operator (66%).
Wages and safety
Unpaid wages recovered
Since 2018, the U.S. Labor Department has concluded 211 wage cases against construction employers in Indiana, recovering $2,869,455 in back wages for 2,987 workers.
DOL Wage and Hour Division enforcement data, cases concluded 2018–2026. Counts only; employers aren't named here.
Safety inspections
In 2025, Indiana's state-run safety program and federal OSHA opened 515 inspections of construction worksites in the state. About 46% were set off by a complaint, a referral or an accident (9 after an accident or fatality); the rest were planned spot checks.
OSHA inspection data via the U.S. Department of Labor, construction (NAICS 23), inspections opened in 2025. Counts only.
Storm and disaster rebuild work
Since 2016, the Indiana metros with the most federal major disasters are Terre Haute (4), Lafayette (4) and Indianapolis (3) (FEMA).
Veterans
Veterans: train on the job with the GI Bill
In Indiana, 608 employers and programs are approved for GI Bill on-the-job training and apprenticeships, across all fields. Veterans in an approved trade apprenticeship can get a monthly housing allowance on top of apprentice pay. Search approved employers with the VA's GI Bill Comparison Tool.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, GI Bill Comparison Tool data, October 2026.
Common questions
What is the highest-paying skilled trade in Indiana?
Electrical Lineworker pays the most of the trades we track, with a $102,040 statewide median (BLS, May 2025), followed by elevator installer and construction supervisor.
Which trade has the most jobs in Indiana?
maintenance technicians, with about 34,480 jobs statewide, followed by construction laborers and landscapers.
Which Indiana city pays the trades best?
Columbus, compared with other U.S. metros across the trades we track, followed by Kokomo.
Is construction hiring growing in Indiana?
In 2026 Q1, private construction jobs were up 11.7% from a year earlier in South Bend, the fastest-changing large market in the state, and down 1.8% in Evansville.
Part of the State of Trade Pay 2026 report. Cite as “PayByTrade, State of Trade Pay in Indiana 2026, payby.trade/report/in/.”