HOURLY WAGE INDEX

Let’s talk wages in Indiana

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$7.25

What is the minimum wage in Indiana?

As of March 8, 2024, the minimum wage in Indiana is $7.25 per hour. It is the same as the federal minimum wage. The Indiana minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13 per hour. However, if the employee's tips combined with the hourly wage do not equal the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference.

The Indiana minimum wage has not increased since 2009. However, there are several proposals to increase the minimum wage, but none of them have been successful.

Here are some of the exceptions to the minimum wage law in Indiana:

  • Learners: Employers may pay learners a sub-minimum wage of $4.25 per hour for the first 90 consecutive calendar days after the learner is initially employed by the employer.
  • Certain workers with physical or mental limitations: Employers may pay sub-minimum wages to workers with physical or mental limitations that limit their ability to do the job.
  • Employees under 18 years old: Employers may pay employees under 18 years old a sub-minimum wage of $4.25 per hour for the first 90 consecutive calendar days after the employee is initially employed by the employer.

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$25.12

What is the average wage in Indiana?

The average wage in Indiana is $25.12 per hour. This is slightly lower than the national average of $24.34 per hour. 

Wages can vary greatly depending on your occupation, experience, and education level. For example, entry-level jobs in customer service may pay around $13 per hour, while experienced lawyers can earn upwards of $100 per hour.

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$20.81

What is the living wage in Indiana?

The living wage in Indiana is $11.14 per hour. This is the hourly wage that an individual must earn to cover their basic living expenses. 

The living wage is higher for families with children. For a family of four, the living wage is $23.54 per hour.

A guide to hourly labor laws in Indiana

  • Standard Minimum Wage: $7.25 (Ind. Code § 22-2-2-4) (29 US Code § 206).
  • Tipped Minimum Wage: $2.13, totaling at least minimum wage after tips (Ind. Code § 22-2-2-4).
  • Overtime: Hours exceeding 40 in a fixed week are overtime, paid at 1.5 times the regular rate (29 US Code § 207) (DoL).
  • Meal Breaks: No state or federal law requiring meal breaks. Federal law allows unpaid, non-working, bona-fide meal breaks over 30 minutes; exceptions may apply (29 C.F.R. § 785.19) (DoL).
  • Rest Breaks:
    • Children under 18: One or two rest breaks totaling 30 minutes if they work six or more consecutive hours (IN DoL).
    • Adults: No state or federal law requires rest breaks. Breaks lasting 5–20 minutes must be paid (29 C.F.R. § 785.18).
  • Wage Deductions: Employers can only make wage deductions for specific purposes such as those required by law or authorized in writing. Third-party deductions benefitting the employer may not reduce wages below the applicable minimum (Ind. Code § 22-2-6-2) (29 C.F.R. § 4.168) (29 US Code § 203 ).
  • Final Paychecks: Payable on the next regular payday after termination or resignation (Ind. Code § 22-2-9-2).
  • Wage Payment Frequency: Semimonthly or biweekly, if requested (Ind. Code § 22-2-5-1).
  • Paid Sick Leave: Indiana has no state or federally-mandated paid sick leave. Policies are determined by the employer or through collective bargaining agreements (DoL).
  • Paid Family and Medical Leave: No Indiana paid leave law. The federal FMLA provides eligible employees up to 12 unpaid  weeks per one-year period for a qualifying medical condition (FMLA).
  • Maximum Daily and Weekly Hours for Children Under 16:
    • School session: No working during school hours; three hours per day; 18 hours per week.
    • Non-school session: Eight hours per day; 40 hours per week.
    • Working Hours: Only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., extended until 9 p.m. June 1 through Labor Day (Ind. Code § 22-2-18.1-1 et seq.) (29 C.F.R. 570.35).
  • Maximum Daily and Weekly Hours for Children 16 and 17:
    • School session: Eight hours per school day and 30 hours per school week. No working between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. on school nights.
    • Non-school session:Eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. No working between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. on non-school nights (Ind. Code § 22-2-18.1-1 et seq. (29 C.F.R. § 570.35.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between gross wages and net wages?

It's important to remember that the Hourly Wage Index data above reflects gross wages, or the amount of money an employee earns before accounting for payroll deductions like taxes, benefits, or wage garnishments. Due to variability in tax rates across locations, slightly lower gross wages in a certain location might result in higher take home pay, or vice versa.

What is a good hourly wage?

This question is a difficult one to answer, as a "good hourly wage" is highly subjective according to experience, work responsibilities, cost of living, and other factors. We recommend using Hourly Wage Index data as a starting point. Once you have established a baseline for certain positions, do further research into similar businesses in your area. Lastly, consider surveying your employees. They're the best resource to help you know what is a good hourly wage, what competitive pay looks like in your location, and how competitive wages change in your industry over time.

Offering competitive pay is one of my top priorities—what other resources do you have that might help?

We know that getting applicants to pay attention to your business can be extremely challenging, and that offering competitive pay is a huge part of that. Wages aren’t everything, however! Applicant experience is another important factor that can help set you apart from your competition. A few examples include:


  • Short, easy to understand job descriptions
  • Mobile-friendliness
  • Quick communication
  • Streamlined interview stages
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Learn about wages in your city

Indianapolis Minimum Wage 2026

Personal Information and Sensitive Personal Information

Before we discuss the right to limit and the right to opt-out, we must first define personal information and how it relates to sensitive personal information.

Personal information is any data that identifies, relates to, or could reasonably be linked to you or your household. A few examples of personal information include:

  • Name or nickname
  • Email address
  • Purchase history
  • Browsing history
  • Location data
  • Employment data
  • IP address
  • Profiles businesses create about you, including pseudonymous profiles (“user1234”)
  • Sensitive personal information

Sensitive personal information or “SPI” is a subset of personal information, defined as:

  • Identifying information (e.g. social security number, driver’s license)
  • Financial data (e.g. debit or credit card numbers)
  • Precise geolocation (within a radius of 1,850 feet)
  • Demographic or protected-class information (e.g. race/ethnicity, religion, union membership)
  • Biometric and genetic data (e.g. fingerprints, palm scans, facial recognition)
  • Communications and content (e.g. mail, email, text messages)
  • Health and sexual orientation (e.g. vaccine records, health history)

Right to Opt-Out

Californians have the right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information. That means you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties (e.g. data brokers, advertisers). You also have the right to opt-out of the sharing of your personal information to prevent the targeting of ads across different businesses, websites, apps, or services.

CCPA-covered businesses must provide a link to allow you to exercise this right. It is usually found at the bottom of a webpage and will say “do not sell or share my personal information” or “your privacy choices.” Sometimes businesses offer privacy choices through a pop-up window or form

To opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information, click on the link or use the toggle provided by the business and follow the directions. Doing this on every website you visit can feel burdensome, but to ease the burden you can automatically select your privacy preferences for every website by using an opt-out preference signal, or OOPS for short.

An OOPS is a user-friendly and straightforward way for consumers to automatically exercise their right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information with the businesses they interact with online. An OOPS, such as the Global Privacy Control. It can either be a setting on your internet browser or a browser extension. With an OOPS, consumers do not have to submit individual requests to opt-out of sale or sharing with each business.

Right to Limit

Californians also have the right to direct businesses to limit the use and disclosure of their sensitive personal information.

Businesses covered under the CCPA must provide a link on their website that allows you to request the limiting of your SPI, if they plan on using it in certain ways. That link will also typically be at the bottom of a webpage and will say: “limit the use of my sensitive personal information” or “your privacy choices.” Once you send this request, the business must stop using your SPI for anything other than to:

  • Provide requested goods or services
  • Ensure security and integrity
  • Prevent fraud
  • Maintain system functionality
  • Comply with legal obligations

Bringing it Together

In summary, the CCPA gives you the right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information and gives you additional rights to further limit the use and disclosure of your sensitive personal information.

When you exercise these rights together, you exert greater control in protecting your personal data which is important for your identity, safety, and financial health.

If you are on a business’s website and you can’t find the links to exercise your rights, remember to check their privacy policy. The privacy policy should tell you how you can exercise your rights under the law.

If you find your rights being violated, you can submit a complaint to CalPrivacy.

Next in the LOCKED series, we will explore the right to correct and right to know. Follow us on social media to get live updates or check back in one week for the next post.

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Targeted Advertising

Used to deliver advertising that is more relevant to you and your interests. May also be used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement and measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. Advertising networks usually place them with the website operator’s permission.

Personalization

Allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your username, language, or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. For example, a website may provide you with local weather reports or traffic news by storing data about your general location.

Analytics

Help the website operator understand how its website performs, how visitors interact with the site, and whether there may be technical issues.

Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information

You also have the right to limit how we use sensitive personal information (such as precise geolocation, financial data, etc.).

Your preference has been saved. We will not sell or share your personal information.