How Much Do Forklift Drivers Make in 2021 (including Starting Salary)

Stan T.Career, SalaryLeave a Comment

Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location.

Salary
$39210
Becoming One
Easy
Education
No degree required
Job Satisfaction
Low
Job Growth
Low

Personality
Interest Match



Table of contents
  1. Average salary
  2. Starting salary
  3. Salary rank
  4. Salary range
  5. Highest paying states
  6. Highest paying industries

Average salary

Annual salary
$39210 per year
Hourly wage
$19 per hour

Starting salary

Entry-level annual salary
$27,390 to $31,570 per year
Entry-level hourly wage
$13 to $15 per hour

Entry-level Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $27,390 to $31,570 per year or $13 to $15 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.

Salary rank

Salary rank
D

We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.

Salary range

Level Hourly Annual
Highest (Top 10%) $26 $53,720
Senior (Top 25%) $22 $45,570
Middle (Mid 50%) $18 $37,560
Junior (Bottom 25%) $15 $31,570
No experience (Bottom 10%) $13 $27,390

Highest paying states

State Hourly Annual
DC $27 $56,110
AK $26 $54,150
WY $23 $48,780
MN $22 $45,960
ND $22 $45,340
MD $21 $44,290
NY $21 $44,100
RI $21 $43,880
WA $21 $43,810
NV $21 $43,490

Another simple way to increase your salary as an Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at DC might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.

According to BLS, the highest paid Forklift Drivers are in the states of DC, AK, WY, MN and ND.

Highest paying industries

Salary by industry Annual Hourly
Coal Mining $65680 $31.58
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing $64540 $31.03
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution $61770 $29.70
Natural Gas Distribution $59940 $28.82
Support Activities for Water Transportation $53460 $25.70
Metal Ore Mining $52670 $25.32
Other Specialty Trade Contractors $51050 $24.54
Rail Transportation $49610 $23.85
Motor Vehicle Manufacturing $49400 $23.75
Federal Executive Branch $49380 $23.74
Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing $47250 $22.72
Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills $46800 $22.50
Business Support Services $46480 $22.35
Scientific Research and Development Services $45960 $22.10
Ship and Boat Building $45570 $21.91
Support Activities for Mining $45280 $21.77
Logging $45220 $21.74
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors $44790 $21.54
Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction $44740 $21.51
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services $44270 $21.28
Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers $44020 $21.16
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries $43950 $21.13
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction $43770 $21.04
Electronics and Appliance Stores $43750 $21.04
Nonresidential Building Construction $43640 $20.98
Utility System Construction $43560 $20.94
Local Government $43510 $20.92
Elementary and Secondary Schools $43360 $20.84
Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation $43320 $20.83
Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing $43260 $20.80

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