Braun touts Indiana wage growth after recently released Indiana EDC audit

INDIANAPOLIS — In the wake of a recently released audit of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun is touting Indiana’s recent wage growth.

According to a news release from Braun’s office, Braun said that throughout his nine months in office, state spending per job incentivized has been cut by more than half, and the average wage of those jobs increased by 10%. Officials said this is a 270% increase in efficiency of average wage for each state dollar spent.

“Our new approach to economic development is all about growing wages and creating new job opportunities for Hoosiers,” Braun said in the release. “Each taxpayer dollar is doing more for our state.” 

According to previous reports, the Indiana EDC audit recently revealed unreported conflicts of interest in business dealings involving the IEDC, as well as reported excessive spending on VIP travel. The 127-page document called for more oversight of the corporation as a whole.

The release said that for the 7,844 new jobs created from state-incentivized projects in 2025, the average hourly wage is $40.95, around 17% higher than the U.S. average wage. Officials also said the average cost per incentivized job decreased from $47,000 per job to $16,000 per job.

In a news conference, Braun spoke about the recent IEDC audit. Braun said that the forensic audit had no restrictions and the state hired a “reputable company” that took a long time to arrive at its results.

Braun said the IEDC aims to take every recommendation in its approach down the road. Braun also continued to emphasize the importance of transparency for the corporation as a whole.