How much do AI/ML Data Analysts make in Indianapolis compared to the national average?

The national median AI/ML Data Analyst salary is $125,275. In Indianapolis, COL adjustments bring the median to $114,000.

What is the cost of living adjusted AI/ML Data Analyst salary in Indianapolis?

Indianapolis's COL multiplier is 0.91x. The median AI/ML Data Analyst salary of $114,000 here equals about $125,275 in an average cost market.

AI/ML Data Analyst.

Q: Do AI/ML Data Analysts in Indianapolis earn overtime or bonuses?

Many AI/ML Data Analysts are exempt from overtime. Bonuses typically range from 5 to 15% of base salary. Ask about total comp when evaluating offers.

Indianapolis.

$114,000

median salary, 9% below the national average

$86,000 to $150,000. Updated for 2026.

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The numbers.

Everything you need to negotiate with confidence.

A AI/ML Data Analyst in Indianapolis earns a median of $114,000 in 2026. That is 9% below the national average. The range runs from $86,000 to $150,000, and where you land depends on your experience, your skills, and how well you negotiate. Compensation varies based on proficiency with ML-specific data pipelines, feature engineering, and model evaluation metrics.

Salary range

25th Percentile

$86,000

per year

Median

$114,000

per year

75th Percentile

$150,000

per year

Tap to place your salary

$86,000$150,000

How Indianapolis compares

Indianapolis, IN

$114,000

Cost of living: 9% below average

National Average

$125,000

Indianapolis is $11,000 below

What you should know

Here is what the AI/ML Data Analyst market actually looks like in Indianapolis. Indianapolis has a diversified economy led by healthcare, life sciences, and motorsports engineering. Eli Lilly's headquarters drives a major pharmaceutical and biotech cluster. The city's extremely affordable cost of living means that even moderate salaries deliver strong purchasing power, making it an underrated destination for professionals seeking financial stability. Compensation varies based on proficiency with ML-specific data pipelines, feature engineering, and model evaluation metrics. Analysts who can build automated data quality monitoring for training datasets earn more. Experience with large-scale data platforms like Databricks or Snowflake adds 10 to 15% to offers.

Junior ML data analysts start at $70,000 to $90,000. Mid-level analysts earn $95,000 to $125,000. Senior analysts reach $140,000 to $165,000, and those who transition into ML engineering or data science roles can exceed $180,000 to $220,000. In Indianapolis, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.

Base salary is not the full picture. Bonuses typically range from 5 to 15% of base salary. Equity is less common than in pure engineering roles but increasingly offered at AI-first startups, usually valued at $10,000 to $30,000 annually. And on the tax side: indiana has a flat 3.05% state income tax, one of the lowest in the country. Marion County adds about 2.02% in local taxes. The combined rate remains well below most major metros. When someone quotes you $114,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.

On negotiation: Benchmark against pharmaceutical industry pay scales. Eli Lilly and the biotech cluster set high compensation floors that ripple across all professional roles in Indianapolis. The range for AI/ML Data Analysts in Indianapolis runs from $86,000 to $150,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.

Top industries in Indianapolis

Pharmaceuticals & Life SciencesHealthcareMotorsports EngineeringInsuranceTechnology

Negotiating in Indianapolis

Benchmark against pharmaceutical industry pay scales. Eli Lilly and the biotech cluster set high compensation floors that ripple across all professional roles in Indianapolis.

Common questions.

AI/ML data analysts earn 20 to 35% more than traditional analysts. The premium reflects specialized skills in training data curation, feature engineering, model performance analysis, and familiarity with ML frameworks that general analysts typically lack.

AWS Machine Learning Specialty and Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer certifications each add $5,000 to $15,000 in market value. Practical portfolio projects demonstrating end-to-end ML data pipeline work are equally valued by hiring managers.

It depends on the position and employer. Many AI/ML Data Analysts in Indianapolis are classified as exempt salaried employees without overtime eligibility. However, bonuses typically range from 5 to 15% of base salary. When evaluating the $86,000 to $150,000 range, ask about the total compensation structure during negotiation.

The national median for a AI/ML Data Analyst is $125,275. In Indianapolis, cost of living adjustments push the median to $114,000. That discount reflects Indianapolis's lower housing, transportation, and everyday costs.

Indianapolis's cost of living multiplier is 0.91x the national average. The adjusted median AI/ML Data Analyst salary of $114,000 accounts for this. In practice, a AI/ML Data Analyst earning $114,000 in Indianapolis has roughly the same purchasing power as someone earning $125,275 in an average cost market.