Governor Braun details strong wage growth, regional investments & entrepreneurial support

 Indiana Governor Mike Braun chaired the 2026 first quarter Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) board of directors meeting today, detailing a strong start to the year for economic development that will lead to more opportunities for Hoosiers.

So far this year, 19 businesses have committed to locating or expanding in Indiana, together pledging to create 1,368 new jobs with average wages of $45.34/hour – an increase from last year’s record of over $40/hour. That’s up 14% from 2025 and nearly 26% from 2024.

Additionally, the cost of those incentivized jobs remains low, averaging $16,014 per job so far in 2026, a 65% decrease from 2024.

“Indiana’s economic development strategy continues to pay dividends for Hoosiers, creating new high-wage, high-growth career opportunities while reducing the burden of these jobs on taxpayers,” said Gov. Braun. “In addition to creating new jobs, we are delivering on our promise to encourage regional strategy and decision making and to lift up entrepreneurs and small business owners.”

At today’s meeting, the IEDC also outlined recent wins and initiatives across the Governor’s priority areas of regionalism and entrepreneurship. 

Regionalism:

The board highlighted new legislation enhancing the IEDC's ability to target the Redevelopment Tax Credit Program (RTC) toward regionally driven priorities, accelerating investment in community revitalization and talent attraction statewide. Paired with the state's historic $1 billion commitment to Indiana's life sciences sector announced yesterday, these efforts position Indiana to strengthen its national leadership while supporting the creation of up to 100,000 high-quality jobs over the next decade and driving meaningful wage growth for Hoosiers.

Regional investments through READI 1.0 and READI 2.0 continue to move forward quickly. To date, $487 million in READI 1.0 funding has been obligated – and $409 million has been disbursed – to 421 quality of place projects and programs statewide. 258 (61%) of these projects have already been completed.

And with READI 2.0, $176 million has been obligated to 121 projects while another $369 million is expected to be allocated to 242 projects that have been pre-approved but not yet finalized. These READI 2.0 investments are exceeding the required 4:1 match, currently leveraging a total match of $23 in private, local and non-profit dollars for each $1 of state funding allocated.

Thanks to a $250 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., the state is supporting even more regional strategies. So far, the IEDC has committed $131 million to 17 blight remediation and redevelopment initiatives and plans to allocate $65 million toward arts and culture projects, with applications due next month.

Entrepreneurship:
In 2025, the IEDC, in partnership with the Indiana Small Business Development Center and its 10 regional offices, served more than 10,000 Hoosier entrepreneurs and small businesses. Additionally, the state awarded $66.8 million to Indiana’s entrepreneurs and small businesses through investments, loans, grants and tax credits; invested $1 million in community initiatives to accelerate entrepreneurship; and helped launch 453 new Hoosier businesses.

So far this year, the state has:

• Allocated another $1 million to the state’s Community Collaboration Fund, making match funding available to support community-led projects focused on entrepreneurial education, tech enablement and acceleration.
   

• Opened applications to help small businesses identify and pursue innovation and commercialization grants through the federal government’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) grants, which are offered through 11 federal agencies. Indiana businesses are encouraged to learn more and to apply for SBIR/STTR specialty advising services online. 

Today, the IEDC board approved funding allocations to programs designed to help entrepreneurs and small businesses grow. First, the IEDC allocated up to $5 million per fiscal year from the 21st Century Research and Technology Fund to continue supporting accelerators that help Indiana businesses start and scale, and help attract new innovative companies to Indiana. In 2025, 68 companies participated in Indiana-supported accelerators, including gBeta, Plug and Play and GrowthX.

Additionally, the IEDC allocated up to $5 million per fiscal year from the 21^st Century Research and Technology Fund to establish a Small Business Strategic Growth Program pilot that will incentivize small businesses to add new payroll or new rent/lease spaces. More information will be available for interested small businesses in the coming months.

About the Office of Commerce
The State of Indiana’s Office of Commerce was created by Governor Mike Braun to align and accelerate the state’s economic development efforts and is led by Indiana Secretary of Commerce David J. Adams.