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

The median forklift operator in Indiana earned $45,310 a year in May 2024, which is $22 an hour for a full-time year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of the 27,890 forklift operators the BLS counts in Indiana earned more than that and half earned less; the middle half of them sat between $41,140 and $48,720. That is the gross figure, before anyone takes anything. What you keep depends on Indiana's tax, and Indiana has a flat 3% state income tax.

What the median forklift operator keeps in Indiana

For a single filer on the median $45,310, taking the standard deduction and no other adjustments:

The state line is 3.0% of gross at this salary. Counties add a local income tax, roughly 1 to 3%, which is not in the table. Health insurance, retirement contributions and local taxes are not in it either; they vary by employer and by city.

Where Indiana ranks for forklift operator pay

Of the 50 states, Indiana ranks 37 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 Indiana, gross median and estimated take-home for a single filer:

Ohio and Illinois leave a forklift operator with more at the end of the year than Indiana does. Michigan 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 Indiana

The BLS count of 27,890 forklift operators is statewide. The metros with the most of that work are Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville and South Bend, which is where the median is set and where the upper quartile ($48,720 and above) is most often paid. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are listed on the Indiana openings page; those filings are the ones already paying to bring people in, and housing or transport is often part of the offer.

Indiana also has a program that pay people to move in: MakeMyMove town offers (typically $5,000 plus local perks, for remote workers moving to participating Indiana towns (Noblesville, Greensburg and others); each offer is its own program). Each has a residence condition and a funding round; the amount is the program's own "up to" figure.

What people get wrong about forklift operator pay in Indiana

• Quoting the mean. The BLS mean for Indiana is $22 an hour, pulled up by the top earners. The median ($22) is what the typical forklift operator makes.
• Comparing gross across states. A $45,310 offer in Indiana is $37,032 in hand; the same number in a no-tax state is $38,391.
• Forgetting the employer's share of insurance. A job that pays $43,310 with full health coverage can beat one that pays $48,310 without it.
• Treating the statewide median as the metro median. Indianapolis pays differently from a rural county; ask for the figure for the place you are actually going.

Everything about Indiana, on one page

The Indiana 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 Indiana 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 Indiana 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.