Forklift Operator salary

Q: What state pays Forklift Operators the most?

North Dakota pays Forklift Operators the most in the United States, with an average salary of $40,448 per year, or $19.45 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a forklift operator?

You know if you are being paid fairly as a forklift operator if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Wyoming you should be paid close to $40,308 per year.

Q: What is a good starting salary for a Forklift Operator?

A good starting salary for a forklift operator is $28,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a forklift operator in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for forklift operators is $33,726, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a forklift operator can vary by state.

Q: Do forklift drivers make good money?

No, forklift drivers do not make good money. The national average salary for a forklift driver is only $28,000 a year. This equals about $14 an hour. The lowest-paid forklift drivers are only paid $19,000 a year, while the highest-paid forklift drivers only reach about $35,000 in total annual salary. This is well below the average salary across all jobs in the United States.

Q: What is the highest-paid forklift operator?

A forklift supervisor is the highest-paid forklift operator. Forklift supervisors typically make around double what forklift operators make, with an average salary of about $60,000 a year.

Average forklift operator salary

$16.45

$34,213 yearly

Entry-level forklift operator salary

$27,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a forklift operator make?

The average forklift operator salary in the United States is $34,213. Forklift operator salaries typically range between $27,000 and $42,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for forklift operators is $16.45 per hour.

Forklift operator salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Forklift operators earn the highest average salary in North Dakota.

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Forklift operator salary by:

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Where can a Forklift Operator earn more?

Compare salary by location

63k

43k

23k

Ashburn, VA$39,103

Richmond, VA$32,974

Compare salary by company

72k

52k

32k

12k

DeWitt LLP Law Firm$47,352

Schneider Electric Industrial Services$42,182

Forklift Operator salaries by experience level

Forklift Operator salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Ziprecruiter, SalaryExpert and CareerExplorer, the average salary for a forklift operator typically falls between $34,213 and $46,329.

zippia

$34,213yearly

ZipRecruiter[1]

$37,232yearly

SalaryExpert[2]

$46,329yearly

CareerExplorer[3]

$38,380yearly

Average forklift operator salary by state

The highest-paying states for forklift operators are North Dakota, Wyoming, and Alaska. The lowest average forklift operator salary states are Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for forklift operators

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Wisconsin	$36,762	$17.67
2	Nevada	$37,779	$18.16
3	North Dakota	$40,448	$19.45
4	Minnesota	$39,060	$18.78
5	Alaska	$39,182	$18.84
6	Rhode Island	$36,323	$17.46
7	Utah	$36,481	$17.54
8	Massachusetts	$36,914	$17.75
9	Wyoming	$40,308	$19.38
10	Iowa	$35,176	$16.91
11	Indiana	$34,476	$16.57
12	Pennsylvania	$34,916	$16.79
13	Vermont	$37,267	$17.92
14	New Hampshire	$35,760	$17.19
15	Ohio	$34,609	$16.64
16	Oregon	$36,761	$17.67
17	Washington	$37,453	$18.01
18	Illinois	$35,037	$16.84
19	New Jersey	$34,896	$16.78
20	Montana	$36,581	$17.59
21	Michigan	$34,354	$16.52
22	Maryland	$35,633	$17.13
23	Hawaii	$37,302	$17.93
24	South Dakota	$34,916	$16.79
25	Kansas	$33,945	$16.32
26	Maine	$35,576	$17.10
27	Colorado	$36,065	$17.34
28	Kentucky	$32,830	$15.78
29	California	$35,201	$16.92
30	Idaho	$34,351	$16.51
31	New York	$35,754	$17.19
32	Missouri	$33,900	$16.30
33	Arizona	$33,050	$15.89
34	Louisiana	$34,212	$16.45
35	Tennessee	$31,375	$15.08
36	Nebraska	$33,456	$16.08
37	West Virginia	$33,169	$15.95
38	Georgia	$31,480	$15.13
39	Connecticut	$33,502	$16.11
40	Arkansas	$30,506	$14.67
41	North Carolina	$31,240	$15.02
42	District of Columbia	$34,257	$16.47
43	Oklahoma	$31,776	$15.28
44	Mississippi	$30,478	$14.65
45	Delaware	$32,840	$15.79
46	Florida	$31,848	$15.31
47	Virginia	$32,975	$15.85
48	Texas	$31,373	$15.08
49	South Carolina	$31,022	$14.91
50	Alabama	$30,522	$14.67
51	New Mexico	$31,746	$15.26

Top forklift operator jobs near you

Highest paying cities for forklift operators

The highest-paying cities for forklift operators are Minneapolis, MN, Tacoma, WA, and Portland, OR.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Minneapolis, MN	$39,103	$18.80
2	Tacoma, WA	$37,524	$18.04
3	Portland, OR	$36,752	$17.67
4	Milwaukee, WI	$36,730	$17.66
5	Salt Lake City, UT	$36,515	$17.56
6	Lancaster, NY	$36,279	$17.44
7	Richmond, CA	$36,103	$17.36
8	Denver, CO	$36,093	$17.35
9	Portland, ME	$35,609	$17.12
10	Allentown, PA	$35,208	$16.93
11	Aurora, IL	$35,075	$16.86
12	Des Moines, IA	$35,033	$16.84
13	Plainfield, NJ	$34,987	$16.82
14	Richmond, IN	$34,338	$16.51
15	Columbus, OH	$34,187	$16.44
16	Kansas City, KS	$34,096	$16.39
17	Kansas City, MO	$34,064	$16.38
18	Omaha, NE	$33,534	$16.12
19	Phoenix, AZ	$33,069	$15.90
20	Richmond, VA	$32,974	$15.85

Forklift Operators are the most in-demand in these five cities:

Forklift Operator salary details

A forklift operator's salary ranges from $27,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $42,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average forklift operator salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a forklift operator's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$42,000	$3,500	$20
75th Percentile	$38,000	$3,167	$18
Average	$34,213	$2,851	$16
25th Percentile	$30,000	$2,500	$14
10th Percentile	$27,000	$2,250	$13

Highest paying forklift operator jobs

The highest paying types of forklift operators are dock worker/forklift operator, truck operator, and mill operator.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Warehouse Machine Operator	$33,796	$2,816	$16.25	229,051
Handle Machine Operator	$29,598	$2,467	$14.23	110,258
Cherry Picker Operator	$33,956	$2,830	$16.32	105,023
Reach Truck Operator	$34,625	$2,885	$16.65	137,300
Forklift	$32,015	$2,668	$15.39	113,257
Operator	$37,928	$3,161	$18.23	159,077

Top companies hiring forklift operators now:

Which companies pay forklift operators the most?

Forklift operator salaries at DeWitt LLP Law Firm and BD are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average forklift operator salary at companies like Nabors Industries and Ventura Foods are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	DeWitt LLP Law Firm	$47,352	$22.77
2	BD	$46,866	$22.53
3	Nabors Industries	$45,758	$22.00
4	Ventura Foods	$44,670	$21.48
5	Kemps	$43,764	$21.04
6	Schnitzer Steel	$43,631	$20.98
7	Teleflex	$43,527	$20.93
8	Dairy Farmers of America	$43,437	$20.88
9	Seneca Foods	$43,395	$20.86
10	Darigold	$43,370	$20.85
11	Sierra Pacific Industries	$43,338	$20.84
12	Koch Foods	$43,290	$20.81
13	Sunsweet	$42,951	$20.65
14	Red Gold	$42,914	$20.63
15	Nestlé	$42,911	$20.63
16	Fresh Express	$42,821	$20.59
17	Nation Pizza	$42,677	$20.52
18	CTI Foods	$42,532	$20.45
19	American Woodmark	$42,303	$20.34
20	Schneider Electric Industrial Services	$42,182	$20.28

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$35,000$34,800$34,600$34,400$34,200$34,000

MaleFemale

Forklift Operator salary by industry

The average forklift operator salary varies across industries:

The average forklift operator salary in the automotive industry is $37,519, the highest of any industry.
The average forklift operator salary in the finance industry is $37,249.
Forklift operators in the transportation industry earn an average salary of $35,358, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for forklift operators

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Automotive	$37,519	$18.04
2	Manufacturing	$37,249	$17.91
3	Technology	$35,626	$17.13
4	Retail	$35,386	$17.01
5	Transportation	$35,358	$17.00

High paying forklift operator jobs

Forklift Operator salary trends

The average forklift operator salary has risen by $6,877 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average forklift operator earned $27,336 annually, but today, they earn $34,213 a year. That works out to a 16% change in pay for forklift operators over the last decade.

Compare forklift operator salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average forklift operator salary over time

Compare forklift operator salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Forklift Operator salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$34,200	$16.45	+3.6%
2024	$33,000	$15.85	+4.0%
2023	$31,700	$15.22	+3.2%
2022	$30,600	$14.73	+3.5%
2021	$29,600	$14.22	+1.1%

Recently added forklift operator salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Core Mark	2Nd Shift Forklift Operator	Lawrenceville, GA	12/17/2024	$41,740
Ryder System Inc.	Warehouse Forklift Operator 1St. Shift	Green Bay, WI	12/17/2024	$41,740
Tyson Foods	Forklift Operator Night Shift	Pottsville, PA	12/17/2024	$47,897
Us Foods Holding Corp	Day Forklift Operator	Coralville, IA	12/17/2024	$43,827
Automation Personnel Services	Standup Forklift Operator	Birmingham, AL	12/17/2024	$29,218
Dairy Farmers of America	Forklift Operator	Grand Rapids, MI	12/17/2024	$48,961
On Time Staffing	Clamp Forklift Operator	Torrance, CA	12/17/2024	$37,566
A-Line Staffing Solutions	Forklift Operator	Four Oaks, NC	12/17/2024	$35,479
Star Staffing	Forklift Operator/General Laborer	Salida, CA	12/17/2024	$45,872
Staffworks	1St. Shift Forklift Operator	East Syracuse, NY	12/17/2024	$41,740