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

The median forklift operator in Rhode Island earned $44,040 a year in May 2024, which is $21 an hour for a full-time year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of the 560 forklift operators the BLS counts in Rhode Island earned more than that and half earned less; the middle half of them sat between $37,920 and $52,370. That is the gross figure, before anyone takes anything. What you keep depends on Rhode Island's tax, and Rhode Island has a progressive state income tax with a top rate of 5.99%.

What the median forklift operator keeps in Rhode Island

For a single filer on the median $44,040, taking the standard deduction and no other adjustments:

The state line is 4.2% of gross at this salary, approximated at 70% of the top bracket, which is where a middle income lands in most progressive states. Health insurance, retirement contributions and local taxes are not in it either; they vary by employer and by city.

Where Rhode Island ranks for forklift operator pay

Of the 50 states, Rhode Island ranks 42 of 50 on the gross median for forklift operators, in the bottom ten. 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 Rhode Island, gross median and estimated take-home for a single filer:

Connecticut and Massachusetts leave a forklift operator with more at the end of the year than Rhode Island does. 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 Rhode Island

The BLS count of 560 forklift operators is statewide. The metros with the most of that work are Providence, Warwick and Cranston, which is where the median is set and where the upper quartile ($52,370 and above) is most often paid. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are listed on the Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island

• Quoting the mean. The BLS mean for Rhode Island is $22 an hour, pulled up by the top earners. The median ($21) is what the typical forklift operator makes.
• Comparing gross across states. A $44,040 offer in Rhode Island is $35,523 in hand; the same number in a no-tax state is $37,370.
• Forgetting the employer's share of insurance. A job that pays $42,040 with full health coverage can beat one that pays $47,040 without it.
• Treating the statewide median as the metro median. Providence pays differently from a rural county; ask for the figure for the place you are actually going.

Everything about Rhode Island, on one page

The Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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.