Pay · 53-7051
Industrial truck and tractor operators earn $46,420 a year at the midpoint
Most industrial truck and tractor operators are paid close to one another — the middle is $46,420, and even the ends, $36,840 and $62,520, are not far off.
National figures for industrial truck and tractor operators, 53-7051, from the 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
- Read the spread, not the middle. The median is the midpoint across everyone in the occupation, most of them years into the work. A beginner starts nearer the 10th to 25th percentile, which is why the spread is published alongside it.
- What the figure counts. The figure counts base pay plus tips, commissions and production bonuses. It leaves out the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers, and the value of benefits or profit sharing.
- The annual figure is arithmetic. For hourly occupations the annual figure is the hourly rate times 2080 hours. It is a calculation, not observed earnings: part time is the norm in retail and food service.
- Where you live moves it more than your resume does. National figures. A state or metro area can sit far from the national number, and that gap is usually larger than any difference a resume makes.
- Not in these numbers. Growth and annual openings are not in this dataset. They come from the separate Employment Projections tables, where an opening is a modelled ten year average and not a posted vacancy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025. Retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on 2026-08-13. bls.gov/oes “BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.”
Industrial truck and tractor operator earnings, from starting pay to the highest 10%
Pick the job, where you work and how long you have done it. The range comes from the published wage percentiles for that job.
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An estimate from survey percentiles, not an offer. Employer, industry, shift and credentials move pay within and beyond this range. Full wage page for this job →
Industrial truck and tractor operator wages, state by state
The 50 states where the most people do this work, of 51 with a published figure: their medians range by 1.49 times. Figures are the 2025 survey.
| State | Median a year | Where most start | 10th to 90th | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | $62,150 | $35,900 | $35,900 — $65,090 | 2,620 |
| Delaware | $60,350 | $38,210 | $38,210 — $60,350 | 5,230 |
| Wyoming | $59,820 | $38,220 | $38,220 — $74,160 | 790 |
| New Hampshire | $54,460 | $40,600 | $40,600 — $62,750 | 1,450 |
| Alaska | $54,190 | $37,650 | $37,650 — $72,720 | 410 |
| Hawaii | $53,640 | $41,140 | $41,140 — $118,140 | 880 |
| Oregon | $50,760 | $40,410 | $40,410 — $63,150 | 8,560 |
| Colorado | $50,570 | $40,560 | $40,560 — $65,630 | 8,570 |
| Washington | $49,910 | $41,600 | $41,600 — $62,920 | 18,750 |
| Minnesota | $49,740 | $39,940 | $39,940 — $73,870 | 7,110 |
| North Dakota | $49,260 | $40,720 | $40,720 — $62,700 | 930 |
| Utah | $49,040 | $38,270 | $38,270 — $65,760 | 6,830 |
| New York | $49,030 | $38,330 | $38,330 — $73,630 | 18,420 |
| Louisiana | $48,950 | $35,980 | $35,980 — $61,230 | 7,680 |
| Florida | $48,370 | $37,050 | $37,050 — $62,960 | 38,400 |
| Arizona | $48,110 | $38,560 | $38,560 — $62,940 | 12,340 |
| Montana | $48,060 | $36,450 | $36,450 — $64,970 | 910 |
| California | $47,770 | $38,650 | $38,650 — $63,330 | 89,620 |
| Maine | $47,730 | $40,440 | $40,440 — $64,490 | 2,900 |
| Pennsylvania | $47,730 | $38,160 | $38,160 — $62,510 | 42,110 |
| Illinois | $47,720 | $37,990 | $37,990 — $63,140 | 29,450 |
| Wisconsin | $47,720 | $38,960 | $38,960 — $62,940 | 12,150 |
| Iowa | $47,590 | $38,640 | $38,640 — $61,000 | 7,770 |
| Kansas | $47,430 | $37,910 | $37,910 — $58,640 | 7,700 |
| South Dakota | $47,410 | $37,780 | $37,780 — $61,080 | 1,940 |
| Vermont | $47,380 | $39,040 | $39,040 — $61,290 | 950 |
| Connecticut | $47,190 | $38,790 | $38,790 — $71,860 | 3,780 |
| Virginia | $46,920 | $37,250 | $37,250 — $62,260 | 19,320 |
| Massachusetts | $46,850 | $39,850 | $39,850 — $57,410 | 8,390 |
| Nebraska | $46,730 | $37,020 | $37,020 — $59,100 | 5,020 |
| Kentucky | $46,630 | $35,540 | $35,540 — $70,840 | 11,270 |
| Idaho | $46,600 | $36,400 | $36,400 — $59,840 | 2,560 |
| Ohio | $46,450 | $37,960 | $37,960 — $63,660 | 42,360 |
| New Jersey | $46,100 | $36,680 | $36,680 — $65,820 | 21,790 |
| Indiana | $45,650 | $37,250 | $37,250 — $61,630 | 23,090 |
| Maryland | $45,630 | $39,320 | $39,320 — $61,040 | 13,740 |
| Texas | $45,450 | $34,300 | $34,300 — $59,780 | 88,780 |
| Nevada | $45,230 | $37,560 | $37,560 — $66,950 | 7,300 |
| Michigan | $45,220 | $37,200 | $37,200 — $71,150 | 23,470 |
| Missouri | $45,190 | $36,240 | $36,240 — $64,620 | 11,470 |
| Rhode Island | $45,010 | $38,960 | $38,960 — $58,330 | 780 |
| Alabama | $44,880 | $33,290 | $33,290 — $60,750 | 15,360 |
| Oklahoma | $44,700 | $35,400 | $35,400 — $60,120 | 7,850 |
| Arkansas | $43,780 | $33,890 | $33,890 — $57,260 | 10,850 |
| South Carolina | $43,680 | $35,780 | $35,780 — $56,980 | 14,210 |
| Mississippi | $43,420 | $32,390 | $32,390 — $51,260 | 9,640 |
| North Carolina | $43,420 | $35,940 | $35,940 — $56,000 | 26,830 |
| Georgia | $43,210 | $36,690 | $36,690 — $59,860 | 50,260 |
| Tennessee | $42,100 | $35,520 | $35,520 — $54,660 | 20,070 |
| West Virginia | $41,670 | $28,700 | $28,700 — $54,920 | 1,400 |
Industrial truck and tractor operator pay rate, hourly to annual
Starts at this job’s median. Change the rate or the hours; a full-time year is 40 hours for 52 weeks.
Examples
Resumes written for this kind of work.
Real sheets, filled in end to end — for this job and the ones beside it.
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Writing a resume for industrial truck and tractor operators
Name the job in the builder and the duties, skills and credentials it is screened on are written in for you.
- Moved levers or controls that operate lifting devices, such as forklifts, lift beams with swivel-hooks, hoists, or elevating platforms, to load, unload, transport, or stack material.
- Moved controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas.
- Positioned lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secured material or products for transport to designated areas.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The owner of tiersi.com has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Place 600 of 788 by median pay
Better paid than 24% of the occupations in the survey.
- 598 Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic $46,550
- 599 Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders $46,460
- 600 Industrial truck and tractor operators $46,420
- 601 Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners $46,420
- 602 Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping $46,380
Questions people ask
What is an industrial truck and tractor operator’s yearly income?
An industrial truck and tractor operator makes a median of $46,420 a year (2025 survey). The middle half earn between $40,030 and $54,770.
What is an industrial truck and tractor operator’s hourly pay rate?
The median pay rate is $22.32 an hour; the average is $48,370 a year.
What is the starting pay for an industrial truck and tractor operator?
Starting pay is usually near the 25th percentile, $40,030 a year, and sometimes as low as the 10th, $36,840.
Which state pays industrial truck and tractor operators the most?
District of Columbia, with a median of $83,720 a year.
How many people work as industrial truck and tractor operators?
About 774,420 in the United States — number 600 of 788 occupations by median pay.
Work that pays nearly the same
Median pay within $80 of what industrial truck and tractor operators earn — $46,420 a year — but not always the same spread.
- $70 less Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers $46,350median a year 10th percentile: $35,890 90th percentile: $63,910
- $80 less Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation $46,340median a year 10th percentile: $35,570 90th percentile: $61,420
- $80 less Upholsterers $46,340median a year 10th percentile: $31,690 90th percentile: $63,770