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The national median salary for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators is $46,426 per year ($22.32/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $40,019 and $54,766 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $62,525 per year. There are approximately 774,420 industrial truck and tractor operators employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+1.1%
About as fast as average
Annual openings
76K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
793K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
1% from new growth99% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
No formal educational credential
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)
NAICS 4240A1
29K
$46,950
Scheduled Air Transportation
NAICS 481100
24K
$46,970
Wage range across top 5 industries: $38,100 to $48,170 (26% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$17.71
$36,837
P25
$19.24
$40,019
P50MEDIAN
$22.32
$46,426
P75
$26.33
$54,766
P90
$30.06
$62,525
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · other sector
Active
Openings Rate
3.4%
Quits Rate
2.0%
The labor market rebounded in March: hires jumped to 5.6M (+655K) and separations rose to 5.4M (+356K), both more than offsetting February's drop. Job openings held at 6.9M. Quits ticked to 2.0%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average industrial truck and tractor operators salary?
The national median salary for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators is $46,426 per year ($22.32/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $40,019 and $54,766 annually.
How much do top-earning industrial truck and tractor operators make?
The 90th percentile salary for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators is $62,525 per year ($30.06/hr). The 75th percentile is $54,766 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for industrial truck and tractor operators?
Entry-level Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators (10th percentile) earn approximately $36,837 per year ($17.71/hr). The 25th percentile is $40,019 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.