Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 53-7051

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators

About 76,400 projected annual openings shape how to read Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators against Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels, Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers, Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators, Subway and Streetcar Operators.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators: Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels ($92K) , Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers ($62K) , Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators ($77K) , Subway and Streetcar Operators ($86K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-7051 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Move levers or controls that operate lifting devices, such as forklifts, lift beams with swivel-hooks, hoists, or elevating platforms, to…
  2. 2. Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and s…
  3. 3. Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles
  4. 4. Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designat…
  5. 5. Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery
  6. 6. Weigh materials or products and record weight or other production data on tags or labels
  7. 7. Perform routine maintenance on vehicles or auxiliary equipment, such as cleaning, lubricating, recharging batteries, fueling, or replacin…
  8. 8. Operate or tend automatic stacking, loading, packaging, or cutting machines
  9. 9. Turn valves and open chutes to dump, spray, or release materials from dump cars or storage bins into hoppers

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators: O*NET ranks Operation and Control first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-7051 - lead skill Operation and Control at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Mathematics. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Operation and Control 3.9
  2. 2. Operations Monitoring 3.3
  3. 3. Coordination 3.0
  4. 4. Equipment Maintenance 3.0
  5. 5. Troubleshooting 3.0
  6. 6. Time Management 3.0
  7. 7. Reading Comprehension 2.9
  8. 8. Active Listening 2.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Mathematics 3.0
  2. 2. English Language 2.8
  3. 3. Production and Processing 2.8
  4. 4. Transportation 2.8
  5. 5. Customer and Personal Service 2.5
  6. 6. Administration and Management 2.5
Projected annual openings
76,400
growth + transfers + exits
National median $46,420/yr
$46K
National median
↑ +1%
Growth 2024-2034
774,420
Estimated US jobs
Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
Highest-pay peer · $92K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators

1. District of Columbia $83,720
2. Delaware $60,350
3. Wyoming $59,820
4. Washington $49,910
5. Alaska $54,190
6. Oregon $50,760
7. Colorado $50,570
8. New Mexico $62,150
9. New Hampshire $54,460
10. Hawaii $53,640

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels $92,460
  2. 2. Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators $77,320
  3. 3. Subway and Streetcar Operators $86,380
  4. 4. Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers $61,770
  5. 5. Locomotive Engineers $81,410
  6. 6. Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers $68,840

Roughly 76,400 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators. Median pay is $46,420 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations.

Employment Projections expect +1% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). BLS assigns No formal educational credential as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: District of Columbia at $83,720. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels at $92,460. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators pay-rank #32 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators sits at pay-rank #32 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 53-7051 · national median $46,420 · middle third of Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (#32/50). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-7051

District of Columbia · top state for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators

$84K published median

Delaware · #2 state pay

$60K · behind District of Columbia

Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

Highest-pay peer vs Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators · $92K

Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers

Lower-pay peer beside Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators · $62K

Compare Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators with another occupation →

Openings and labor-flow next reads

Most Openings Rankings

Labor-flow scale across occupations

Compare openings side-by-side

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators mid-table among Transportation and Material Moving Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #32 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Transportation Workers, All Other ($46K), Motorboat Operators ($48K), Bus Drivers, School ($48K), Light Truck Drivers ($45K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do industrial truck and tractor operators do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators. Leading ones include: Move levers or controls that operate lifting devices, such as forklifts, lift beams with swivel-hooks, hoists, or elevating platforms, to…; Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and s…; Manually or mechanically load or unload materials from pallets, skids, platforms, cars, lifting devices, or other transport vehicles; Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designat…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for industrial truck and tractor operators? ▼
For SOC 53-7051, O*NET importance scores lead with Operation and Control (3.9), Operations Monitoring (3.3), Coordination (3.0), Equipment Maintenance (3.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Mathematics, English Language, Production and Processing. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $46,420 as the national median for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators. The published 10th-90th range is $36,840 to $62,520. Beside Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels ($92,460), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators is +1%. Projected annual openings: about 76,400. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators? ▼
District of Columbia ($83,720), Delaware ($60,350), Wyoming ($59,820) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-7051. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics