Short answer
The Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood metro had 4,594 construction establishments with paid employees in 2023, employing 58,393 people with $4.64 billion in annual payroll, according to Census County Business Patterns. Marion County has 1,910 and Hamilton County 789. They average 12.7 employees, above the US average of 9.4. Indiana licenses plumbers statewide, but other contractor licensing varies by city and county, so check with the local building department.
- 4,594 construction establishments and 58,393 employees in metro Indianapolis in 2023: 30.8% of Indiana's establishments and 37.4% of its construction jobs.
- Marion County has 41.6% of the metro's establishments and 54.2% of its construction employment.
- Commercial and institutional builders number only 266 but employ 7,423 people, more than all 1,104 residential builders.
- INDOT requires prequalification for prime contractors and for subcontractors with more than $300,000 of INDOT work at once.
- Permits for 11,463 new housing units were issued in the metro in 2025, 9,322 of them single-family.
On this page
This report is for property owners and businesses choosing a contractor in central Indiana, companies looking for subcontractors or acquisitions, job seekers, and B2B sellers planning an Indianapolis territory. It covers the Census count by county and trade, how licensing works in Indiana, INDOT prequalification and a prospecting plan.
Indianapolis construction by the numbers
US Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, construction sector (NAICS 23), Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metro Area (CBSA 26900):
| Measure | Metro Indianapolis, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Construction establishments | 4,594 |
| Employees | 58,393 |
| Annual payroll | $4,642,436,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 12.7 |
| Average annual pay | $79,503 |
| Share of US construction establishments | 0.56% (of 814,557) |
Indiana had 14,935 construction establishments and 156,037 employees in the same release. Average pay in the metro is about $2,900 above the national construction figure of $76,580 and $4,800 above Indiana's $74,725.
Marion County and the suburbs
| County | Establishments | Employees | Employees per establishment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County, Indiana | 1,910 | 31,674 | 16.6 |
| Hamilton County, Indiana | 789 | 8,912 | 11.3 |
| Johnson County, Indiana | 426 | 4,612 | 10.8 |
| Hendricks County, Indiana | 410 | 4,991 | 12.2 |
| Hancock County, Indiana | 240 | 1,478 | 6.2 |
| Madison County, Indiana | 226 | 1,777 | 7.9 |
| Boone County, Indiana | 191 | 2,080 | 10.9 |
| Morgan County, Indiana | 189 | 1,172 | 6.2 |
The metro's other three counties (Brown, Shelby and Tipton) have 213 establishments between them. Marion County's contractors average 16.6 employees, the largest in the region, because the commercial builders, mechanical contractors and road builders are concentrated there. Hamilton County, home to Carmel and Fishers, has the second-largest count.
Trades and builders
| Type of work (NAICS) | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty trade contractors (238) | 3,001 | 39,452 |
| Plumbing, heating and air conditioning (238220) | 598 | 10,110 |
| Electrical contractors (238210) | 419 | 7,309 |
| Building finishing: drywall, painting, flooring (2383) | 745 | 6,286 |
| Site preparation (238910) | 250 | 4,898 |
| Poured concrete (238110) | 157 | 2,402 |
| Roofing (238160) | 183 | 1,908 |
| Building construction (236) | 1,395 | 13,538 |
| Commercial and institutional builders (236220) | 266 | 7,423 |
| Residential remodelers (236118) | 831 | 3,115 |
| New single-family general contractors (236115) | 194 | 839 |
| For-sale homebuilders (236117) | 48 | 837 |
| Heavy and civil engineering (237) | 198 | 5,403 |
| Utility systems (2371) | 109 | 3,088 |
| Highway, street and bridge (2373) | 36 | 1,580 |
Commercial and institutional builders average 27.9 employees and electrical and mechanical contractors about 17, which makes Indianapolis a market of mid-sized commercial firms more than a market of one-truck operators.
Firm size
| Employees per establishment | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 19 | 3,998 |
| 20 to 49 | 368 |
| 50 to 99 | 142 |
| 100 to 249 | 68 |
| 250 to 499 | 11 |
| 500 or more | 7 |
The 1 to 19 group breaks down into 2,769 establishments with 1 to 4 employees, 742 with 5 to 9 and 487 with 10 to 19. Of the 7 with 500 or more, 3 have 1,000 or more. In broader bands: 3,998 (87.0%) have 1 to 19 employees, 510 have 20 to 99 and 86 have 100 or more.
What CBP counts: establishments (locations) with paid employees, not companies; a contractor with a Castleton office and a southside yard counts twice. Self-employed contractors without payroll aren't in the count, and the employee figures are a snapshot of the pay period that includes March 12, 2023.
How licensing works in Indiana
Indiana licenses plumbers statewide through the Plumbing Commission of the Professional Licensing Agency, which offers a license verification service. For most other contractors, the Indiana Attorney General's consumer guidance puts it plainly: licensing requirements "vary from community to community," and you should check with your city or county building department for the rules and whether a contractor is "properly licensed, bonded and insured."
For road, bridge and utility work, INDOT's prequalification is the statewide standard. A company must be prequalified by INDOT if it:
- Bids on INDOT work as prime contractor.
- Subcontracts for more than $300,000 of INDOT work at one time.
- Bids or subcontracts for more than $300,000 of local government highway, street, road or alley work.
Prequalified firms receive a certificate listing the work types they're qualified for, an aggregate rating (the most work they can have under contract at once) and a rating for each work type. The gap between a firm's rating and its current unearned work is its capacity, and a firm without enough capacity can't bid. INDOT publishes its prequalified contractors list online, and its Prequalification Committee meets on the first Thursday of each month.
How to vet an Indianapolis contractor
- Ask the local building department what license or registration the job requires in that city or county, and confirm the contractor holds it.
- Verify any plumbing license with the Professional Licensing Agency.
- For public road or utility work, look the firm up on INDOT's prequalified list and check its work types.
- Get certificates of insurance, and bond details if required, before work starts.
- Ask for three recent references on similar jobs in the same county and get a written contract with scope, schedule and payment terms.
What's being permitted
The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey counted 11,463 new housing units authorized in the metro in 2025, against 11,788 in 2024. Single-family units rose slightly, from 9,168 to 9,322, while units in buildings of five or more fell from 2,314 to 1,974. Steady single-family volume keeps site preparation, concrete, framing and roofing crews busy across Hamilton, Hendricks and Johnson counties.
Public companies
No SEC-registered listed construction company has its business address in the Indianapolis metro, so local contractors can't be ranked by published revenue. For heavy civil firms, INDOT aggregate ratings are the best public proxy for size.
Selling to Indianapolis construction companies
| Size band | Establishments | Who usually decides |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 19 employees | 3,998 | The owner |
| 20 to 99 employees | 510 | Owner with an operations manager, project manager or controller |
| 100 or more | 86 | Preconstruction, procurement, safety, equipment and IT leaders |
Commercial builders and the mid-sized mechanical and electrical firms that work for them are the core of the market for most B2B offers. For heavy civil sellers, the INDOT list adds a timing signal: a firm close to its aggregate rating needs bonding and capacity, while one with room is bidding. Our guide on how to build a prospect list covers turning segments like these into named accounts.
Illustrative example. The company and its assumptions are invented; the counts are from CBP 2023.
Circle City Scheduling (circlecitysched.example) sells project scheduling software. Its target is commercial and institutional builders (266 establishments) plus electrical (419) and plumbing and HVAC contractors (598) in the metro: 1,283. If 30% have 20 or more employees and run several jobs at once, that's about 385 accounts. At $9,000 a year per account, winning 8% (31 accounts) is $279,000 in annual revenue. Knowing which of the 385 just won a large job is what makes the first email land; Bebop researches each account in a list like this and writes the opener.
Where to find names
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| INDOT contractor prequalification | The prequalified contractors list, rules, work type codes and committee meetings |
| Indiana Plumbing Commission | Plumbing licensing and license verification |
| Indiana Constructors, Inc. | Highway, bridge and utility contractors statewide |
| ABC Indiana/Kentucky | Merit shop commercial contractors |
| Indy Chamber | Business network and economic development for the ten-county region, with a member directory |
Next step: use the construction companies industry guide to build the list.
Sources
- County Business Patterns 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Contractors Prequalification, Indiana Department of Transportation, accessed 30 October 2026
- Introduction to Contractor Prequalification, Indiana Department of Transportation, revised 27 December 2023
- Plumbing Commission, Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, accessed 30 October 2026
- Storm Chasers consumer guide, Indiana Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, April 2024
- Building Permits Survey, annual metro area data 2024 and 2025, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many construction companies are in Indianapolis?
The US Census Bureau counted 4,594 construction establishments with paid employees in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood metro area in 2023, employing 58,393 people. Marion County had 1,910 and Hamilton County 789. These are locations with payroll, not companies, and self-employed contractors with no employees aren't counted, so the number of active businesses is higher.
Do contractors need a license in Indiana?
It depends on the trade and the place. Indiana licenses plumbers statewide through the Plumbing Commission. For other contractors, the Indiana Attorney General's office notes that licensing requirements vary from community to community and advises checking with your city or county building department. Contractors bidding INDOT road work must also be prequalified by INDOT.
What is INDOT contractor prequalification?
It's INDOT's review of a contractor's finances, experience, equipment, personnel and performance before it can bid. It's required for prime contractors on INDOT work, for subcontractors with more than $300,000 of INDOT work at one time, and for firms bidding or subcontracting more than $300,000 of local government road work. The certificate sets the firm's work types and aggregate rating.
Which county near Indianapolis has the most construction companies?
Marion County, with 1,910 construction establishments and 31,674 employees in 2023, according to Census County Business Patterns. Hamilton County, which includes Carmel and Fishers, is second with 789, followed by Johnson (426) and Hendricks (410). Marion County's contractors are also the largest, averaging 16.6 employees per establishment, because commercial and road builders cluster there.
What are the biggest construction companies in Indianapolis?
No listed construction contractor has its business address in the Indianapolis metro, so there are no public revenue figures to rank local firms. Census data shows 86 construction establishments with 100 or more employees in the metro and 3 with 1,000 or more. For road and utility contractors, INDOT's prequalification ratings are the best public guide to size.