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Reference · State of Indiana

Indiana trade labor costs

What a plumbing, HVAC or electrical tech earns in Indiana, what the state adds to payroll, whether labor is taxed, what a license costs, how lien rights work and when the heating and cooling seasons peak — each figure from the agency that sets it, with the date we read it.

  • Wages BLS OEWS May 2025
  • Payroll and licenses state agencies
  • Checked and
Plumbing median
$36.69/h+19.6% vs the U.S.16th of 51
HVAC median
$29.05/h−1.0% vs the U.S.30th of 51
Electrical median
$32.93/h+8.4% vs the U.S.21st of 51
New-employer SUTA
2.50%on the first $9,500
Payroll programs
Noneno paid-leave or disability program found
Sales tax on labor
Not taxedrepair and installation on buildings

Pay in Indiana

Hourly pay across all industries, May 2025. Half of the workers in each trade earn less than the median and half earn more; one in ten earns less than the 10th percentile. Union and non-union, no self-employed.

Hourly pay, 10th to 90th percentileDrawn to scale: one dollar axis for all three trades

  • PlumbingU.S. median $30.67

    plumbers: 10th percentile $22.54, 25th $27.89, median $36.69, 75th $46.52, 90th $49.29 an hour; U.S. median $30.67.

  • HVACU.S. median $29.33

    HVAC techs: 10th percentile $19.45, 25th $23.33, median $29.05, 75th $38.09, 90th $47.02 an hour; U.S. median $29.33.

  • ElectricalU.S. median $30.38

    electricians: 10th percentile $20.76, 25th $24.04, median $32.93, 75th $43.89, 90th $47.75 an hour; U.S. median $30.38.

  • 25th–75th percentile
  • State median
  • U.S. median
Hourly pay by percentile for plumbers, HVAC techs and electricians in Indiana, BLS OEWS May 2025
PercentilePlumbingHVACElectrical
10th$22.54$19.45$20.76
25th$27.89$23.33$24.04
Median$36.69$29.05$32.93
75th$46.52$38.09$43.89
90th$49.29$47.02$47.75
Mean$36.37$31.30$34.05
U.S. median$30.67$29.33$30.38
vs U.S.+19.6%−1.0%+8.4%
Rank16th30th21st
Jobs11,2808,53019,020

Dollars an hour. BLS occupations: Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (SOC 47-2152); Heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers (SOC 49-9021); Electricians (SOC 47-2111). “vs U.S.” compares the medians; rank 1 is the highest median of the 50 states and DC. Released May 15, 2026; the next survey is due each spring.

Payroll costs the state adds

What Indiana charges an employer on top of wages: unemployment tax, and any paid-leave or disability program funded through payroll, and who must carry workers’ comp. Federal Social Security, Medicare and unemployment tax apply in every state and are already in the calculator. Workers’ comp premiums depend on the class code and the insurer, so the card gives the rules, not a rate.

State unemployment tax (SUTA)

Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD)

Wage base
$9,500 per employee a year
New-employer rate
2.50%
Construction
2.50%for new construction employers

Indiana Department of Workforce Development: most new employers pay 2.5% for their first four calendar years; construction employers pay “the lesser of 4.0 or the average rate for all construction companies”, listed as 2.5%.

Per tech, a year 2.50% × $9,500 = $238At the construction rate, for a plumber paid the state median ($36.69 × 2,080 h = $76,315). The calculator uses the rate alone.

State pages read

Workers’ compensation

Worker's Compensation Board of Indiana

Who must carry it
Any employeeEvery employer bound by the Act, meaning anyone using the services of another for pay, must insure or get a Board certificate to self-insure (IC 22-3-2-5; IC 22-3-6-1). There is no minimum number of employees. iga.in.gov
Where to buy it
Private insurersEmployers insure with a company authorized to write worker’s compensation in Indiana, or prove to the Board the financial ability to pay claims directly ($500 self-insurance application fee) (IC 22-3-5-1). in.gov
Owners
Corporate executive officers are employees but may elect out by written notice to the insurer and the Board; the exclusion starts only when both receive it. Sole proprietors and partners are not covered unless they elect in; a sole proprietor or partner working as an independent contractor in the construction trades who does not elect coverage must get a certificate of exemption ($20) under IC 22-3-2-14.5 (IC 22-3-6-1(b)). iga.in.gov
Construction
A contractor that sublets work without getting the Board’s certificate showing the subcontractor is insured is liable, to the same extent as the sub, for injuries to the sub’s employees; anyone hiring a contractor for work over $1,000 without that certificate is liable the same way (IC 22-3-2-14). iga.in.gov

Statute and agency pages read

Paid leave and disability insurance

We found no state paid family and medical leave or temporary disability insurance program funded through payroll in Indiana on October 28, 2026. State paid sick leave rules, where they exist, are not covered here.

New-employer rates usually last one to three years — longer in some states (four years in Indiana, four to five in D.C.); then the state assigns your own rate, and your rate notice wins over any figure here. The calculator below uses the construction rate where one is clear. Where a state’s own pages could not be read, the card says so and gives the U.S. Labor Department’s figure.

What a shop in Indiana needs to charge

The calculator’s example shop — three techs, $120,000 of overhead, a truck each, 10% net profit — with Indiana’s median wage for each trade and its unemployment tax filled in. Your own numbers will differ; change them in the calculator below.

Example shopBreak-evenRate, 10% profit
Plumbingwage $36.69$125.60$139.55→ $140
HVACwage $29.05$109.20$121.33→ $125
Electricalwage $32.93$117.53$130.59→ $135

Per billable hour; → is the rate rounded up, as the calculator rounds it. Everything except the wage and the unemployment tax is the national example (BLS, IRS and DOL figures listed on the labor rate calculator).

Change the numbers for your shop

The labor rate calculator, opened on Indiana: pick your trade, put in your own crew, pay and overhead, and the rate and break-even redraw as you type.

Your labor rate

Who does the billable work?

Example shop in Indiana: 3 techs at the state’s median plumber wage, $120,000 overhead. Change any number or pick another state.

Charge at least Example shop · Indiana

Charge at least $139.55 per billable hour; break-even $125.60.

Round up to $140 (+$0.45)

See it drawn to scale
Rate build-upDrawn to scale: every dollar the same height
Rate build-up for the example, drawn to scaleColumn from $0 to $139.55 per billable hour, drawn to scale: wage $62.72, taxes & benefits $16.27, overhead $32.87, truck $13.74, profit 10% $13.96. Break-even line at $125.60. Rounded up to $140.12345$0Labor$78.98Break-even$125.60Your rate$139.55Round up to$140
  1. Wage$76,315.20 ÷ 1,216.8 h$62.72
  2. Taxes & benefits25.94% of pay$16.27
  3. Overhead$120,000 ÷ 3,650.4 h$32.87
  4. Truck$16,719.14 ÷ 1,216.8 h$13.74
  5. Profit 10%of the price$13.96
Break-even
$125.60
Profit per hour
$13.96
Revenue a year
$509,425

$125.60 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $139.55rounded up to $140

Already showing the example.

Price your tasks at $140 an hourOpens the price book builder with this rate.

Billable hours
1,216.8per tech a year
Loaded wage
$46.21per paid hour
Labor
$78.98per billable hour
Overhead
$32.87per billable hour
Truck
$13.74per billable hour
Labor burden
25.94%over gross pay

What moves your rate

  • Every billable hour sold under $125.60 loses money.
  • At 70% billable instead of 65%, break-even drops to $116.63, $8.97 an hour less.
  • Cut $10,000 of overhead a year and break-even drops $2.74 an hour, to $122.86.
Show the math
  1. Worked hours2,080 h − 26 days × 8 h = 1,872 h
  2. Billable hours per tech1,872 h × 65% = 1,216.8 h
  3. Gross pay per tech$36.69 × 2,080 h = $76,315.20
  4. Employer taxes and comp$4,731.54 SS + $1,106.57 Medicare + $42.00 FUTA + $237.50 SUTA + $2,037.62 comp = $8,155.23
  5. Benefits$76,315.20 × 15.25% = $11,638.07
  6. Labor per billable hour$96,108.50 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $78.98
  7. Overhead per billable hour$120,000 ÷ (3 × 1,216.8 h) = $32.87
  8. Truck per billable hour$16,719.14 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $13.74
  9. Break-even$78.98 + $32.87 + $13.74 = $125.60
  10. Rate at 10% profit$125.60 ÷ (1 − 10%) = $139.55

Change the numbers

State and trade
Trade

Fills the wage and state unemployment tax (SUTA). Workers’ comp and everything else stay as they are.

Filled for Indiana3 figures
Wage Plumbing
$36.69/hr
Indiana median for plumbers · BLS OEWS May 2025
SUTA rate Construction
2.50%
Construction rate; other new employers pay 2.50% · Indiana DWD (the lesser of 4.0% or the construction average)
SUTA wage base Per tech
$9,500
Indiana · DOL Significant Provisions, July 2026

Your own rate notice wins. These are new-employer rates: after one to three years the state sets your own, and construction employers often pay a different rate.

Indiana: pay, payroll taxes and licensesSee all 50 states and DC
Indiana: the fine print

Indiana Department of Workforce Development: most new employers pay 2.5% for their first four calendar years; construction employers pay “the lesser of 4.0 or the average rate for all construction companies”, listed as 2.5%.

Crew and pay

People who bill hours. Office staff go in overhead.

Average base pay. Filled: Indiana median for plumbers, BLS OEWS May 2025.

Hours and time off2,080 h · 26 days off

40 hours × 52 weeks = 2,080.

Holidays, vacation and sick days, 8 h each. Example: 8 + 11 + 7 (BLS).

Optional. Paid at 1.5 × the wage. Leave 0 if none.

Billable time

Share of worked hours that ends up on invoices. Published figures run from 30% to 65%.

Billable hours1,216.8 hper tech · 3,650.4 h for the shop
Payroll taxes and benefits+25.94% of pay

Filled: Indiana construction rate, Indiana DWD (the lesser of 4.0% or the construction average). Your notice wins.

Pay per tech the rate applies to. Filled: Indiana, DOL Significant Provisions, July 2026.

Use the rate on your policy. Example: BLS construction average.

Health, retirement and other benefits. Example: BLS construction average.

Loaded wage$46.21per paid hour · burden 25.94%

Included automatically (IRS, tax year 2026): Social Security 6.2% of pay up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45%, federal unemployment (FUTA) 0.6% of the first $7,000.

Shop costs

An example figure. Everything except field pay and trucks — split it in the worksheet below.

Payments, fuel, insurance and upkeep. Enter 0 if trucks are already in overhead.

Profit

Profit as a share of the price, not a markup on cost.

Your rate: $139.55 per billable hour · break-even $125.60. Back to the result

Sales tax on your work

What Indiana’s tax agency says about repair and installation labor on buildings and the parts and fixtures that go into them. This is what the agency’s pages say, not tax advice.

Labor
Not taxedLabor to install or repair construction material in real property isn’t taxed: on lump-sum jobs the contractor pays tax on the parts and charges no sales tax; on time-and-material jobs only the separately stated materials are taxed.Lump-sum contracts: no sales tax to the customer. Time-and-material contracts (materials and labor stated separately): tax on the materials, and on fabrication or delivery before they’re handed over, not on separately stated installation. Repairs to items that stay movable follow other rules.
Materials
Depends on the job or contractLump-sum: the contractor pays tax on materials when buying them. Time-and-material: it buys for resale and charges the customer tax on the materials.
Also
Time-and-material contractors must register as retail merchants.

Read October 24, 2026 on the agency pages listed under Sources. All 50 states and DC side by side.

Licenses and state fees

The license a shop needs from the state to contract for each trade, the board that issues it and the fees on its own schedule. Cities and counties can add their own licenses, registrations and permit fees; exam vendors and fingerprinting may charge more.

Plumbing

State license

Indiana Plumbing Commission (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency)

Plumbing Contractor license (corporations must also hold a Plumbing Corporation license)

A corporation engaged in the business of a plumbing contractor must be licensed as a plumbing contractor; plumbing contractor applicants need 4 years' experience in a plumbing business or an out-of-state license.

FeeAmount
Plumbing Contractor application fee (non-refundable)one-time$50
Plumbing Contractor issuance fee(license issued in an even year)to Dec 31 of the next odd year (up to 2 years)$100
Plumbing Contractor issuance fee(license issued in an odd year)to Dec 31 of that odd year$50
Plumbing Contractor renewal fee2 years (expires Dec 31 of odd years)$100

Issuance fee depends on the year the license is issued, not when the application was received. Late renewal: $115 before 3/1 of the even year, $300 after. Plumbing Corporation: application $50, renewal $100. Exam is through PROV; exam fee not stated on the PLA page.

Keeping the license

Renewal
Indiana plumbing contractor and journeyman licenses renew every two years and expire December 31 of odd-numbered years; the contractor renewal fee is $100, with late fees after December 31 and higher ones from March 1. in.gov
Continuing ed.
The Indiana Plumbing Commission’s renewal instructions require only the renewal fee (and, for corporations, the responsible contractor) and list no continuing education. in.gov
Reciprocity
The Indiana Plumbing Commission states reciprocity is not available for journeyman and contractor plumbers; out-of-state licensees apply, are reviewed by the board and take the exam. in.gov

Sources read

HVAC

No state license

No statewide HVAC license; licensed by counties/cities (e.g. Marion County Board of Heating and Cooling Examiners)

Indiana does not have any statewide licensing requirements for HVAC technicians; this is handled at the local level and requirements vary from county to county.

No state fees; local fees vary by county/city (not researched).

Sources read

Electrical

Check with the state

We found no state license for this trade in Indiana, and no official page saying it is licensed only locally. Check with your city or county building department.

Beyond the trade license

Contractor registration, bond and insurance the state asks of a trade shop

Check with the state Registration, bond and insurance: The official page that settles this refused a normal read on November 4, 2026.

Board and statute pages read

State or city license?

State and local Who licenses the trades in Indiana

Plumbers are licensed by the state (Indiana Plumbing Commission), but Indiana has no statewide HVAC license: HVAC licensing is handled by counties and cities, such as the Marion County (Indianapolis) Board of Heating and Cooling Examiners and the Allen County Building Department. in.gov

State and city pages read

What Indiana law says about lien rights on private jobs — the notices, the deadline to file and the deadline to sue — and whether a statute sets payment deadlines or caps retainage. Read from the statute itself; it is not legal advice.

Mechanic’s lien

IC 32-28-3Chapter 3. Mechanic’s Liens

You, hired by the owner
No notice to startIndiana’s mechanic’s lien chapter requires no pre-lien notice from a contractor who contracts directly with the owner; the 30-day and 60-day residential notices in IC 32-28-3-1(h)-(i) apply only to those who furnish to a contractor or anyone other than the owner. The contractor just records the sworn notice of intention to hold a lien in time (IC 32-28-3-3). iga.in.gov
Subs and suppliers
Notice requiredOn residential jobs only: anyone furnishing on credit to a contractor or sub for repair or alteration of an owner-occupied one- or two-family home must give the occupying owner written notice of lien rights within 30 days after first delivery or labor, and for original construction of an owner’s one- or two-family home must give the owner notice and record a copy with the county recorder within 60 days; otherwise there is no lien (IC 32-28-3-1(h)-(i)). Commercial jobs have no preliminary notice. iga.in.gov
File the lien
90 daysRecord a sworn statement and notice of intention to hold a lien, in duplicate, with the county recorder within 90 days after you last performed labor or furnished materials; on a Class 2 structure (a one- or two-family dwelling or townhouse and its outbuildings) the deadline is 60 days (IC 32-28-3-3; IC 22-12-1-5). The same deadlines apply to contractors and subs. iga.in.gov
Enforce it
1 yearFile the foreclosure complaint in circuit or superior court within 1 year (12 months) after the notice of intention to hold a lien was recorded, or after a written, recorded credit expires; otherwise the lien is void (IC 32-28-3-6). iga.in.gov
Homes
On Class 2 structures (one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses) the lien must be recorded within 60 days instead of 90 (IC 32-28-3-3(b)), suppliers and subs to someone other than the owner must give the 30-day or 60-day owner notice (IC 32-28-3-1(h)-(i)), and the owner and prime contractor may agree in a written, recorded contract that no lien may attach (IC 32-28-3-1(e)-(f)). iga.in.gov

Statutes read

Payment deadlines and retainage

Private jobs (public contracts have their own rules)

Prompt payment
No private-job statuteIndiana has no statute setting payment deadlines or late-payment interest on private construction jobs; the mechanic’s lien chapter (IC 32-28-3) and the trade-regulation title (IC 24) contain none, and the payment and retainage rules in IC 4-13.6-7 and IC 36-1-12-14 cover public works. iga.in.gov
Retainage
No private-job capIndiana has no private-job retainage statute; retainage rules appear only for public works (IC 4-13.6-7-2 and -3, IC 36-1-12-14). iga.in.gov

Statutes read

Heating and cooling season in Indiana

Degree days, NOAA’s index of the energy it takes to heat or cool a building: each degree a day’s mean temperature falls below 65 °F is one heating degree day, each degree above is one cooling degree day. Thirty-year normals for Indianapolis, month by month.

Heating degree days
5,250
Cooling degree days
1,139
Nights ≤ 32 °F
105
Days ≥ 90 °F
20
Normal heating and cooling degree days (base 65 °F) and freezing nights by month at Indianapolis, NOAA 1991–2020 normals
MonthHeatingCoolingNights ≤ 32 °F
Jan1,131026
Feb910022
Mar702316
Apr355134
May13186–
Jun14237–
Jul1336–
Aug2301–
Sep58142–
Oct314212
Nov650113
Dec983023

Heating carries the load at Indianapolis: 5,250 heating degree days a year against 1,139 cooling degree days, peaking in January (1,131).

The lightest months for heating and cooling together are May and September (217 and 201 degree days).

Nights at or below 32 °F: about 105 a year, ten or more a month in November through March; 3 at or below 0 °F. Days reaching 90 °F: about 20 a year, the most in July.

Weighted by where Indiana’s people live, NOAA’s statewide normals (1981–2010) are 5,686 heating and 921 cooling degree days — 23rd for heating and 22nd for cooling among the 48 contiguous states (the contiguous U.S.: 4,332 and 1,272).

Station: Indianapolis (USW00093819), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 — station file; statewide figures: NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Bars share one scale: the longest is 1,131 degree days. Read .

Sources

Each page opened on the date shown. License, registration, lien and workers’ comp sources are linked beside each fact above. Figures change: the agency’s own page wins over this one.

  1. May 2025 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (state file oesm25st)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · read October 28, 2026
  2. Occupational Employment and Wages — May 2025 (news release USDL-26-0725, May 15, 2026)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · read October 28, 2026
  3. Public Data API (national OEWS series for the three occupations)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · read October 28, 2026
  4. Unemployment insurance tax rates (in.gov)Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) · read October 28, 2026
  5. Unemployment insurance tax rates (in.gov)Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) · read October 28, 2026
  6. Significant Provisions of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, Effective July 2026U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance · read October 28, 2026
  7. Sales Tax Information Bulletin #60: Contractors and Construction MaterialIndiana Department of Revenue · March 2024 · read October 24, 2026
  8. IC 32-28-3 — Chapter 3. Mechanic’s LiensOfficial state code · read November 4, 2026
  9. Workers’ compensation coverage requirementsWorker's Compensation Board of Indiana · read November 4, 2026
  10. U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Indianapolis (USW00093819)NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · read November 4, 2026
  11. Population-weighted daily heating and cooling degree day normals, 1981–2010 (states and CONUS)NOAA National Weather Service, Climate Prediction Center · read November 4, 2026