Indiana enforces its own full-scope OSHA State Plan (IOSHA), and its steel, automotive and RV-manufacturing base drives safety-manager pay to an estimated median of $87,000 a year — here's the breakdown.
Indiana is a full-scope OSHA State Plan state. Its program, IOSHA, covers both private-sector and state and local government employers, and it’s allowed to write standards that are stricter than federal OSHA’s. That’s different from neighboring states that only cover public employees — in Indiana, virtually every safety manager, public or private sector, answers to the state program day-to-day, with federal OSHA setting the floor IOSHA cannot fall below.
Indiana safety and EHS managers earn an estimated median of $87,000 a year, with most roles paying between $67,860 and $117,450. The estimate scales the BLS national median for occupational health & safety specialists — $83,910 (SOC 19-5011, OES May 2024) — to Indiana wage levels; actual pay still depends on industry, employer size, certifications and years on the job. The state’s manufacturing base is a big driver: steel production around Gary and Northwest Indiana, automotive and recreational-vehicle manufacturing centered on Elkhart-Goshen (the RV capital of the country), and pharmaceutical manufacturing in the Indianapolis area. Add Indiana’s position at the crossroads of several major interstates — which supports a large logistics and warehousing workforce — and safety-manager demand stays broad-based. Cost of living here runs below the national median, so the salary figure tends to go further than the same number would in a coastal or high-cost state.
EHS roles cluster around Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Evansville. Indianapolis pulls from its pharmaceutical and logistics base, Fort Wayne from manufacturing, and Evansville from a mix of manufacturing and healthcare. Elkhart County, in the state’s north, is also a significant — if smaller — hiring pocket given its concentration of RV and manufactured-housing plants.
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How much do safety managers make in Indiana?
Indiana safety and EHS managers earn an estimated median of about $87,000 per year, with most roles between $67,860 and $117,450 depending on industry, employer size, certifications and experience, scaling BLS national OES data to Indiana's wage level.
Is Indiana under its own OSHA program or federal OSHA?
Indiana runs its own OSHA-approved State Plan, IOSHA, covering both private-sector and state/local government employers. IOSHA can adopt standards stricter than federal OSHA, so safety managers here need to track state rules, not just federal ones.
What industries employ the most safety managers in Indiana?
Heavy manufacturing drives most of the demand: steel production in the Gary/Northwest Indiana region, automotive and recreational-vehicle manufacturing centered on Elkhart-Goshen, and pharmaceutical manufacturing around Indianapolis. Indiana's crossroads location also supports a large logistics and distribution-center workforce.
How does Indiana's cost of living compare?
Indiana's cost of living generally runs below the national median, so an $87,000 median salary tends to stretch further here than the same number would in a higher-cost state.
Salary figures are estimates derived from BLS national OES data scaled to state wage levels — not a guarantee or an offer. Verify current local data with BLS and employers. ← All states · Home