North Dakota · BLS May 2025
Also called industrial truck operator. SOC 53-7051.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 930 industrial truck and tractor operators working in North Dakota. Here is what they are paid, what the median leaves after federal and FICA tax, and what that is worth against local prices.
Median pay · North Dakota
$49,260A year, or $23.68 an hour.| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid | $40,720 | $19.58 |
| 25th percentile | $45,040 | $21.65 |
| MedianHalf earn more, half less | $49,260 | $23.68 |
| 75th percentile | $56,310 | $27.07 |
| 90th percentileMost experienced and senior | $62,700 | $30.14 |
| MeanThe average, pulled up by the top | $50,920 | $24.48 |
Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1
A $49,260 salary in North Dakota, for one single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026.
Prices in North Dakota sit at 89 against a national average of 100, so $49,260 earned here buys what $55,374 buys at national average prices.
Common questions
The median wage for forklift operators in North Dakota is $49,260 a year, or $23.68 an hour.
Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.
On the median wage of $49,260, one filer taking the standard deduction keeps about $41,760 a year, or roughly $3,480 a month.
That is after federal and FICA tax, an effective rate of 15.2%.
North Dakota levies no state income tax on wages, so nothing is withheld for it.
Yes. The median in North Dakota is 6.1% above the national median of $46,420.
Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in North Dakota sit at 89 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.
It is 0.64 times the median household income of $76,657. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.
Prices in North Dakota run at 89 against a national average of 100, with rents at 71.4, so $49,260 here buys about what $55,374 buys at national average prices.
The top tenth earn $62,700 a year or more, against $40,720 at the bottom tenth.
Experience, specialism, employer and the part of North Dakota someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.
The survey counted 930 of these jobs in North Dakota for May 2025.
That makes the occupation 56% less concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.
Sources