TechnologyBLS OEWS 2025 metro-area survey

IT Manager Salary in Indianapolis

2026 · Official labour data · 8 comparison cities

$155,230/yr

Last updated: September 2026 · Source: BLS OEWS · May 2025 release · series OEUM002690000000011302113

Typical range: $126,400 $176,090

Very High Confidence · 97/100

✓ Based on official government occupation survey data — not estimated.

How much does a IT Manager make in Indianapolis, IN?

A IT Manager in Indianapolis earns a median of $155,230/year (about $75/hour). Most earn between $126,400 (25th percentile) and $176,090 (75th percentile); top earners (90th percentile) make $214,110 or more — 11% below the US average. Figures are from BLS employer payroll data, not self-reports.

$100,530
Entry (P10)
$155,230
Median (P50)
$176,090
Top 25% (P75)
$214,110
Top 10% (P90)

Understanding these IT Manager salary numbers

We report percentiles, not a single average, because pay isn't evenly spread — a handful of very high earners would drag an average upward and mislead you. Here's exactly what each figure means.

Median (P50) — $155,230

Half of IT Managers in Indianapolis earn more than this and half earn less. It's the most honest "typical" salary — better than an average, which gets skewed by a few top earners.

25th percentile (P25) — $126,400

The lower end of the typical range: 75% of IT Managers earn more than this. It's common for early-career roles or lower-cost employers. Earning below it is grounds to negotiate.

75th percentile (P75) — $176,090

Your negotiation target: only 25% of IT Managers earn above it. Reaching P75 usually means seniority, in-demand specialisations, or simply negotiating from data. See how to negotiate.

90th percentile (P90) — $214,110

Top earners: only 10% of IT Managers make this or more — typically senior, highly specialised, or at the best-paying employers.

Gross vs after-tax pay

These figures are gross (before tax). What actually reaches your account depends on your country, state, and deductions. Estimate your net with the take-home calculator.

National vs Indianapolis pay

City figures apply the local market premium to BLS data, so Indianapolis differs from the US average by -11%. A higher number isn't always better once cost of living is counted.

Hourly rate — $75/hr

The hourly figure is the annual median divided by 2,080 (40 hours × 52 weeks). If you regularly work more than 40 hours, your real hourly rate is lower than this. Convert any salary with the salary calculator.

Why this differs from Glassdoor or Payscale

Those sites publish what people say they earn (self-reports), which skew high because higher earners report more often. Our figures come from mandatory employer payroll records (BLS OEWS), so they reflect the whole market — not just a vocal subset.

How current and reliable is this number?

This page carries a confidence score of 97/100, based on the data source and coverage. US figures track the latest BLS release and refresh automatically; international figures use OECD/ILO data. See the changelog for live data freshness.

What counts as a "good" IT Manager salary in Indianapolis?

Around the median ($155,230) is solid and $176,090+ is strong — but "good" really depends on local costs. Check what the number is actually worth with the good-salary breakdown for Indianapolis.

Still curious how we get these numbers? Every figure is traceable to a primary source — see the full methodology and data sources.

Cite or reuse this data

IT Manager salary in Indianapolis, IN: median $155,230 (P75 $176,090), per BLS OEWS via Official Salary, 2026.

Free JSON: /api/salary?job=it-manager&city=indianapolis — no key. API & widgets →

Key insights for IT Managers in Indianapolis

✓ Reviewed by the Official Salary Data TeamUpdated September 2026Source: BLS OEWS 2025 metro-area survey 2026Confidence: Very HighMethodology
  • IT Managers in Indianapolis earn about 11% less than the national median for the role ($155K vs $175K).
  • Cost of living in Indianapolis runs about 11% below the US average, so $155K is worth roughly $174K at national prices.
  • After a simplified take-home estimate, $155K nets about $109K/yr — roughly $79K/yr left after typical single-person living costs here.
  • Pay climbs with seniority: a senior/staff IT Manager reaches about $230K — a +48% step from mid-level.
Official Salary Verdict™
Typical Range

IT Managers in Indianapolis typically earn $126K–$176K a year.

Market Median

The market median is $155K — half earn above, half earn below.

Top Earners

Top earners (top 10%) make $214K or more.

High-Paying Role

Based on BLS OEWS 2025 metro-area survey (2026) official survey data.

Official government labour statistics (BLS OEWS)Updated monthly via BLS APIHuman-reviewed methodologyConfidence Score: 97/100Editorial policy →

IT Manager Salary Analysis — Indianapolis

IT Managers in Indianapolis earn a median salary of $155K, which is 11% below the national median of $175K. A more competitive regional labour market keeps wages below the national baseline.

Based on BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) and employer payroll records. Figures represent the median (P50) across all experience levels in Indianapolis.

Cost of Living Adjustment

Indianapolis's cost of living is 11% below the US average. Your $155K salary has the equivalent purchasing power of approximately $174K in a city with average US living costs.

$155K
Nominal salary
-11%
CoL vs US avg
$174K
Real value

Salary Distribution — Indianapolis

5-band distribution from employer payroll records

P10Entry Level
$100,530

New graduates, 0–1 yr exp

P2525th Percentile
$126,400

1–3 years experience

P50Median
$155,230

3–7 years, typical professional

P7575th Percentile
$176,090

Senior / high-performer — target

P90Top 10%
$214,110

Staff / principal / lead

IT Manager salary chart for Indianapolis, IN, 2026: median $155K, top 25% earn $176K+, from BLS employer payroll data
IT Manager pay in Indianapolis — free to share with attributionDownload chart
-11%
vs US avg
+10%
demand growth
Low
AI risk
Data Confidence
97/100A+
BLS.OEWS.2026.v2Updated Sep 2, 2026

Are You Being Underpaid?

Enter your current salary to see your exact market percentile in Indianapolis

Am I Underpaid?

Enter your current salary to see where you stand

$

Your salary is never stored or transmitted. Calculation runs locally in your browser.

Official Salary Fair Pay Score™

Is $155K a good salary for IT Manager in Indianapolis?

Benchmarked against the official BLS wage distribution for IT Managers in Indianapolis

50
$155K sits exactly at the market median

Half of IT Managers in Indianapolis earn more, half earn less. Enter your own salary in the checker above to see your exact percentile against this distribution.

Bottom 10%: $101K·Median: $155K·Top 10%: $214K
Underpaid← MedianTop earner
Official · 96% confidenceSource reliability: 40/40 (BLS)

Why This Salary?

How we arrived at $155K for IT Managers in Indianapolis

✓ Direct
Official BLS OEWS 2025 metro-area survey survey
This salary is anchored to a direct government occupational wage survey — not an estimate.
-11%
IN market level
IN pays 11% below the global baseline — lower cost of living often offsets this.
-11%
Indianapolis metro premium
This city has a lower cost of living, reflected in typical salary ranges.
+2%
Steady demand for IT Managers
Consistent hiring demand keeps wages competitive.

Source: BLS OEWS 2025 metro-area survey. All figures reflect 2026 market conditions.

IT Manager Salary by Experience Level in Indianapolis

How compensation grows from entry-level through staff / lead

Experience LevelYearsPercentileAnnual SalaryMonthlyHourly
Entry00 yrs$105,556$8,796$51
Junior22 yrs$130,393$10,866$63
Mid-LevelTypical44 yrs$146,951$12,246$71
Senior66 yrs$170,132$14,178$82
Staff1010 yrs$229,740$19,145$110
Principal1414 yrs$288,107$24,009$139
Distinguished1818 yrs$302,699$25,225$146

Based on BLS OEWS percentile distribution. Actual salary depends on employer, skills, and negotiation.

Skills That Earn More — IT Manager

Estimated premium above the Indianapolis median based on market demand

IT Strategy+4% ≈ +$6K/yr
Budget Management+4% ≈ +$6K/yr
Leadership+8% ≈ +$12K/yr
Project Management+4% ≈ +$6K/yr
Vendor Management+4% ≈ +$6K/yr

Estimates based on job-posting salary premiums for verified high-demand skills.

IT Manager Intelligence Report

Career metrics and full compensation breakdown — from BLS demand data

Career Opportunity Score

Composite: demand growth × 1.4 + (100 − AI risk) × 0.4

D42/100
High RiskModerateExceptional
Demand Growth+10%/yr
AI Displacement Risk30% — Low
Risk-Adj. Salary Growth+1.5%/yr
Below Average: Moderate risk from automation. Consider adjacent skills to broaden earning power.
$160K
In 2 yrs
$167K
In 5 yrs
$180K
In 10 yrs

Total Compensation — IT Manager

Beyond base salary: bonus, equity, and benefits

Total Comp Range
$241K$267K
per year
Base (61%)Bonus (10%)Equity (15%)Benefits (13%)
Base Salary
Median market rate
$155,230
Annual Bonus
Typical: 8–25% of base
$25,613
Equity (annualised)
~25% of base — RSUs/options
$38,808
Benefits Value
~22% — healthcare, 401k, PTO
$34,151
Total Comp (mid)
$253,802

Bonus, equity, and benefits are modelled estimates from category norms (not scraped from any single employer); base is BLS. Actual total comp varies by employer, level, and negotiation.

Typical Benefits for IT Managers

— show

Often adds 20–35% to your effective pay

Health Insurance
Medical, dental, vision
401(k) Match
Avg 3–6% employer match
PTO
15–25 days / year
Remote / Hybrid
Common in this role
Equity / RSUs
Especially at tech firms
Total compensation tip: Always negotiate base salary first. Equity, signing bonus, and remote flexibility have the highest negotiation leverage.

Compare IT Manager Salaries by City

How Indianapolis, IN stacks up against other major markets

CityMedianP75vs US avg
Indianapolis, IN (current)$155,230$176,090+-11%
New York, NY$215,300$285,570++23%
San Francisco, CA$260,907$328,102++49%
Seattle, WA$253,469$318,748++45%
Austin, TX$176,990$220,450++1%
Boston, MA$214,960$269,520++23%
Chicago, IL$173,760$214,880+-1%
Los Angeles, CA$204,370$242,970++17%
Denver, CO$203,340$230,420++16%

Official Salary Career GPS™

What should I do next as a IT Manager?

O*NET · US Dept of Labor

Higher-paying roles in the same field

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average IT Manager salary in Indianapolis, IN?

Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), it managers in the Indianapolis metro area earn a median of $155,230 per year (BLS series OEUM002690000000011302113). The top 25% earn $176K+ per year.

What is a good IT Manager salary in Indianapolis, IN?

The 75th percentile ($176K/yr) is the professional benchmark — what the top quarter already earns. It's a documented, negotiable target backed by BLS payroll data. Anything above the median ($155K) is above-average for this role in Indianapolis, IN.

How much does a IT Manager earn per hour in Indianapolis, IN?

Based on the median annual salary of $155K, a IT Manager in Indianapolis, IN earns approximately $75/hr (2,080-hour work year). The P75 rate is ~$85/hr.

Is Indianapolis, IN a good market for IT Managers?

Indianapolis, IN pays 11% below the US national average for this role. BLS projects 10% employment growth for IT Managers over 2022–2032, and AI automation risk is rated low for this occupation.

How do I negotiate a higher IT Manager salary in Indianapolis, IN?

Cite the BLS P75 figure ($176K) — it is verifiable public data from government payroll records. Request the full compensation package: base + equity/bonus + benefits. Timing matters: negotiate at the offer stage, not after acceptance. Counter with a specific number, not a range.

What is the entry-level IT Manager salary in Indianapolis, IN?

Entry-level IT Managers in Indianapolis, IN (10th–25th percentile) earn roughly $101K–$126K per year, rising toward the $155K median with experience and in-demand skills.

What does a senior IT Manager earn in Indianapolis, IN?

Senior IT Managers in Indianapolis, IN — the top quartile up to the 90th percentile — earn about $176K–$214K per year, with the top 10% making $214K+.

How Is This Salary Calculated?

Every number is derived from a transparent, reproducible methodology — no estimates, no black boxes.

Where does the salary data come from?

US metro figures are published estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, which covers roughly 1.1 million employer establishments. Where BLS does not publish a figure for an occupation and area, this site shows a modeled estimate and labels it as one.

How is the Indianapolis figure calculated?

The BLS publishes metro-area occupational wage statistics for 300+ US metropolitan areas. For Indianapolis, Official Salary uses the BLS metro premium ratio (metro median ÷ national median) and applies it to the national baseline.

What do P10, P25, P50, P75, and P90 mean?

These are salary percentiles from employer payroll records. P50 (median) means 50% of workers earn less. P75 means 75% earn less — this is the recommended negotiation anchor. P10 and P90 represent the bottom 10% and top 10% respectively.

How is take-home pay estimated?

Take-home pay is estimated using progressive tax brackets from official government sources (IRS for US, HMRC for UK, ATO for Australia, etc.). Social contributions (National Insurance, FICA, etc.) are added. These are estimates — actual take-home depends on deductions, filing status, and location.

How often is data updated?

US BLS salary data refreshes every 24 hours via the BLS public API. OECD international wages refresh monthly. ECB currency rates refresh every 4 hours.

Full formulas and source citations on the methodology page.

What a IT Manager salary really means in Indianapolis

Take-home pay, rent affordability, and remote benchmarking — on the $155,230 median.

Estimated take-home

$116,561/yr

$9,713/month net

Gross median
$155,230
Income tax
$26,794
Social / FICA
$11,875
Effective rate
25%

Federal income tax only (FICA included). State income tax varies. Single-filer estimate — not tax advice.

Rent affordability

11%

of take-home on a typical 1-bed (~$1,046/mo)

The 30% rule says housing should stay under 30% of take-home. Here it's comfortably within that line. After all living costs (~$2,490/mo), roughly $7,223/mo is left to save or invest.

Cost-of-living estimate for Indianapolis; rent ≈ 42% of budget.

Remote vs onsite

$155,230$175,140

typical fully-remote benchmark range

Onsite IT Managers in Indianapolis earn the local median of $155,230. Fully-remote roles are usually benchmarked between the US median ($175,140) and the local rate — employers increasingly set remote pay by national or regional bands, not your city.

Compare all IT Manager markets →
✓ Reviewed by the Official Salary Data TeamUpdated September 2026Source: BLS OEWS 2025 metro-area survey 2026Confidence: Very HighMethodology

How to reach the top 25% as a IT Manager in Indianapolis

The gap between a typical IT Manager and the top quartile in Indianapolis is $20,860/year — about $1,738/month more than the median. Reaching the 75th percentile ($176,090) usually comes down to seniority, in-demand specialisations, and negotiating from real data instead of hoping for a raise.

IT Manager Salary Trend (2019–2024)

BLS OES historical national medians

2019 median
$175K
2024 median
$175K

Source: BLS OEWS 2019–2024. City-level data uses national trend × metro premium.

Education Premium — IT Manager

How degree level affects salary · ACS Census data

High School / GED
-28%
~$112K
Associate's Degree
-12%
~$137K
Bachelor's DegreeBASELINE
~$155K
Master's Degree
+24%
~$192K
Doctoral (PhD)
+32%
~$205K
Professional (MBA/JD/MD)
+42%
~$220K

Source: US Census Bureau ACS PUMS · BLS OES wage data.

Negotiation Deep-Dive

Get your data-backed negotiation opening ask and walking-away floor.

📊Your exact market percentile based on BLS distribution
🎯P75 target + 10% stretch as your opening ask price
🚪Walking-away floor so you know when to move on
Indianapolis benchmarks
$155K
Market median
$176K
P75 target
$214K
Top 10%

Negotiation Calculator

Enter your current salary to see your market position and opening ask

$
IT Manager in Indianapolis — Distribution
P10
$101K
P25
$126K
P50
$155K
P75
$176K
P90
$214K
Enter your salary above to see your negotiation position

Data Source & Attribution

This page’s figures are published estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey , May 2025 release, series OEUM002690000000011302113. Verify them directly at bls.gov/oes. International figures draw on OECD Average Wages, Eurostat SES, and ILO ILOSTAT.

BLS.OEWS.2026.v2

Sep 2, 2026

Full methodology →
Check If You're Underpaid →