What does it cost to hire a human resources assistant in Indianapolis?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $48,400 median wage in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $9,680 to $14,520 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for a human resources assistant in Indianapolis look like?

Employers in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN area pay human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping a median of $48,400, with the middle half of the market between $41,200 and $57,150 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $41,200 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Hiring a human resources assistant in Indianapolis, IN

Employers in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN area pay human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping a median of $48,400 a year, with the middle half of the market between $41,200 and $57,150 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-4161). Filling it through recruitlocalpros runs Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role rather than by salary or location, and our vetted recruiting partner handles sourcing, screening and placement end to end.

Do Indianapolis residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN area pay?

Indianapolis residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $37,419 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $47,830 as the median of the 47 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 22%, with the employers figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole office and administrative support group, not this one role. In the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN area the group covers 47 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from library assistants, clerical at $25,890 to first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers at $74,680 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping at $48,400 inside it.

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 47 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

Published wages across this group in the metro run above what Indianapolis residents in it earn, which usually means employers here draw this talent from beyond the city line rather than from inside it.

What does a human resources assistant earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping by employers in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-4161.
25th percentile	$41,200
Median	$48,400
75th percentile	$57,150

Half of human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping in this area earn between $41,200 and $57,150 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $41,200 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 43-4161 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What Indianapolis residents earn

$37,419

Median annual earnings of Indianapolis residents working in office and administrative support occupations, 52,583 people (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011). An occupation group rather than this one role, and where people live rather than where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Process, verify, and maintain personnel related documentation, including staffing, recruitment, training, grievances, performance evaluations, classifications, and employee leaves of absence.
Record data for each employee, including such information as addresses, weekly earnings, absences, amount of sales or production, supervisory reports on performance, and dates of and reasons for terminations.
Explain company personnel policies, benefits, and procedures to employees or job applicants.
Provide assistance in administering employee benefit programs and worker's compensation plans.
Answer questions regarding examinations, eligibility, salaries, benefits, and other pertinent information.

Task statements for SOC 43-4161, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

Applicant tracking software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Oracle HRIS, Google Docs.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 43-4161 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Indianapolis?

This is a job zone three: medium preparation needed occupation. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. O*NET OnLine, SOC 43-4161.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 34.2% of Indianapolis adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Indianapolis aged 25 and over.

The average Indianapolis commute runs 24.3 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 12.3% of Indianapolis workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Indianapolis.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Marion County, administrative and support services employs 57,882 and turns over 17.3% a quarter, with 22,477 hires against 23,330 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $3,707 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 56.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a high-churn market, where speed matters more than a perfect fit.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $48,400 median in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $9,680 to $14,520 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring a human resources assistant in Indianapolis

What does it cost to hire a human resources assistant in Indianapolis?: Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $48,400 median wage in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $9,680 to $14,520 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for a human resources assistant in Indianapolis look like?: Employers in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN area pay human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping a median of $48,400, with the middle half of the market between $41,200 and $57,150 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $41,200 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do Indianapolis residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN area pay?: Indianapolis residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $37,419 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $47,830 as the median of the 47 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 22%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.
Is the talent for this role already in Indianapolis?: This is a job zone 3 occupation and does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 34.2% of Indianapolis adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501).

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a human resources assistant somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other office and administrative support roles in Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the largest of 2 Indiana cities in this dataset.