Forklift operator pay in Illinois after taxes: what you keep (2026)

The median forklift operator in Illinois earned $47,090 a year in May 2024, which is $23 an hour for a full-time year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of the 28,510 forklift operators the BLS counts in Illinois earned more than that and half earned less; the middle half of them sat between $41,200 and $52,650. That is the gross figure, before anyone takes anything. What you keep depends on Illinois's tax, and Illinois has a flat 4.95% state income tax.

What the median forklift operator keeps in Illinois

For a single filer on the median $47,090, taking the standard deduction and no other adjustments:

The state line is 5.0% of gross at this salary. Health insurance, retirement contributions and local taxes are not in it either; they vary by employer and by city.

Where Illinois ranks for forklift operator pay

Of the 50 states, Illinois ranks 21 of 50 on the gross median for forklift operators. The highest-paying state is New Mexico at $60,960 and the lowest is Tennessee at $40,760. Gross rank is not take-home rank: a state with no income tax climbs several places once the state line is applied, and a high-tax state drops.

Across the border

The same job in the states next to Illinois, gross median and estimated take-home for a single filer:

Iowa leaves a forklift operator with more at the end of the year than Illinois does. Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri and Kentucky pay less once tax is counted. Pay is one line; rent is the other, and a higher median in a metro with higher rent can leave you with less.

Where the forklift operator jobs are in Illinois

The BLS count of 28,510 forklift operators is statewide. The metros with the most of that work are Chicago, Aurora, Naperville, Rockford and Springfield, which is where the median is set and where the upper quartile ($52,650 and above) is most often paid. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are listed on the Illinois openings page; those filings are the ones already paying to bring people in, and housing or transport is often part of the offer.

What people get wrong about forklift operator pay in Illinois

• Quoting the mean. The BLS mean for Illinois is $23 an hour, pulled up by the top earners. The median ($23) is what the typical forklift operator makes.
• Comparing gross across states. A $47,090 offer in Illinois is $37,490 in hand; the same number in a no-tax state is $39,821.
• Forgetting the employer's share of insurance. A job that pays $45,090 with full health coverage can beat one that pays $50,090 without it.
• Treating the statewide median as the metro median. Chicago pays differently from a rural county; ask for the figure for the place you are actually going.

Everything about Illinois, on one page

The Illinois page has the licence registries and boards, the state tax at three salaries, the programs that pay you to come, and the openings filed in Illinois this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Illinois employers hiring from out of state.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 state estimates for Forklift operator. Tax lines are a single filer with the standard deduction, 2024 federal brackets, and the state rate in lib/us-states.ts; progressive states are approximated. Not tax advice.