Executive Assistant salary in Indianapolis-Carmel, IN

Pay in Indianapolis-Carmel against Indiana and the US

Executive assistants at the 90th percentile earn $100,430, 2.2 times the 10th percentile; the US ratio is 2.2. The middle half of executive assistants in Indianapolis-Carmel earns $52,220–$78,070. The mean ($67,840) is 10% over the median, so a group of high earners pulls the average up; price a typical hire from the median. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is $25,850 wide, between the figure for Indiana ($23,710) and the US figure ($33,000).

What to budget for an executive assistant here

Pay climbs faster above the median than below it here: the 75th percentile is $16,490 over the median, the 25th only $9,360 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $21,277 a year in employer cost. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $76,590 falls between the median and the 75th percentile in Indianapolis-Carmel, and the Indiana statewide median of $59,080 falls between the 25th percentile and the median.

What a hire really costs in Indianapolis-Carmel

At the $61,580 median, a local hire costs about $79,458 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $17,878 here. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

Our open executive assistant roles pay $800–$1,100 a month under a direct contract. The one-time fee is $2,500³ with a 180-day replacement; paying through Deel adds $49 a month⁴. Change any number below to match your plan.

A local hire here costs about 5.5 times as much as a remote hire in year one at the midpoint of our range. From year two, when the fee drops out, it is 6.6 times the remote figure of $11,988. About the candidates: most apply through our assessment platform with a written and a spoken English task; each profile shows the English level (B1–C2); Silkstaff interviews every shortlisted candidate live, in English, before you meet them.

Other roles in Indianapolis-Carmel

Of the 17 roles we track in Indianapolis-Carmel, this one ranks #8 by median pay, between paralegals ($62,130) and payroll specialists ($55,450). Project Coordinator is the highest at $99,710.

Measured against the US median, this job is the lowest paid of the 17 roles we track in Indianapolis-Carmel (-19.6%); office managers come first (+7.5%). The typical role here is at -3.1%, so, measured against the US, executive assistants cost less in Indianapolis-Carmel than the area's general pay level would suggest. Executive assistants hold 2.0% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Indianapolis-Carmel, 1.9% across Indiana and 2.9% nationally. The job is a smaller part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Indiana

Across the 15 areas of Indiana with data for this job, the median runs from $40,770 in Bloomington to $64,970 in Lafayette-West Lafayette, a gap of $24,200 a year. No other area in Indiana has as many executive assistants, and 12 of the other 14 pay less.

Indianapolis-Carmel against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Indianapolis-Carmel is #38 of 506 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job, with pay near the middle of the US range. Outside Indiana, Burlington and State College pay just above Indianapolis-Carmel and Columbia and Muskegon-Norton Shores just below. All four are within $100 a year of the median in Indianapolis-Carmel. Of the three markets with about as many executive assistants, all three pay more.

Questions

Sources

How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.