Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
This question is about forklift operator demographics.
10.5% of forklift operators are female in the United States. This is -1.1 percentage points lower than last year. Additionally, the percentage of female forklift operators has decreased by -0.6 percentage points since 2010. That means there are a total of 164,287 female forklift operators in the U.S. and 1,400,352 male forklift operators in the United States. Note that Zippia's estimate accounts only for the 1,564,639 people with the specific job title of forklift operator and doesn't include grouping similar job titles, or people with potentially similar credentialing.
| Year | Female Forklift Operators | Male Forklift Operators | Percentage Female Forklift Operators | Percentage Male Forklift Operators | |
| 2019 | 406 | 3,467 | 10.5% | 89.5% | |
| 2018 | 449 | 3,443 | 11.5% | 88.5% | |
| 2017 | 435 | 3,394 | 11.4% | 88.6% | |
| 2016 | 372 | 3,387 | 9.9% | 90.1% | |
| 2015 | 327 | 3,307 | 9.0% | 91.0% | |
| 2014 | 359 | 3,142 | 10.3% | 89.7% | |
| 2013 | 331 | 3,091 | 9.7% | 90.3% | |
| 2012 | 327 | 2,968 | 9.9% | 90.1% | |
| 2011 | 370 | 2,875 | 11.4% | 88.6% | |
| 2010 | 337 | 2,712 | 11.1% | 88.9% |

Additionally, female forklift operators tend to be older than male forklift operators. The average age of a female forklift operator is 44.1, while the average age of a male forklift operator is 42.8.
While the majority of U.S. forklift operators are male in 2022, there are still some occupations where females dominate. For example, 80% of gift wrapper are female. On the other hand, some forklift operator jobs are dominated by males. 96% of marine tower operator, for instance, are male.
Like most jobs, there's a gender pay gap among forklift operators. The average male forklift operator earns an average annual salary of $33,911, while the average female forklift operator earns an average annual income of $33,017, meaning female forklift operators make 97 cents for every dollar a man earns.
Are forklift operators jobs male or female dominated?
Forklift Operator jobs are male dominated. 10.5% of forklift operators are female and 89.5% of forklift operators are male in the United States.
How has the number of female forklift operators changed over time?
The number of female forklift operators has decreased by -0.6% since 2010. In 2010, there were 11.1% female forklift operators and the latest data shows that there are 10.5% female forklift operators in the U.S.

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.