how much do costco forklift drivers make

1. Executive Summary

Costco Wholesale Corporation is famous for paying frontline warehouse workers well above retail-industry averages, and forklift drivers are no exception. Nationally, the company’s certified forklift operators typically earn:

Hourly base: $20 – $32, with a statistical median around $23 – $24

Annual cash (base + Sunday premium + bonuses): $41 k – $57 k for a full-time (36-40 h) driver

Top-of-scale veterans: can exceed $65 k before overtime, and $70 k+ with overtime in high-cost regions such as California or Washington State

Those figures are 20-40 % higher than the U.S. national average for powered-industrial-truck (PIT) operators and come with industry-leading benefits: free family health cover, 401(k) match, quarterly bonuses, and an employee stock-purchase plan that can add another 8-12 % of base pay. The following 2,000-word technical article unpacks every compensation element, explains why Costco pays more, and shows how drivers move up the wage ladder.

2. Benchmarking the Numbers (September 2025 Data)

Data Provider - Job Title Sample Size Mean Hourly 10th-90th Range Notes

Glassdoor – “Forklift Driver” 93 wages $23.00 $20 – $27 93.5 % base, 6.5 % bonus

Indeed – “Forklift Operator” 116 wages $21.24 $19 – $24 21 % above U.S. retail average

ZipRecruiter – “Costco Forklift” 2 300 job ads $17.84 $11.78 – $25 Includes new-hire regions

Zippia – W-2 annual 67 records $19.75 $34 k – $49 k Converts to ≈ $19.75/h

Internal Costco posting (Tri-Cities, WA) Not disclosed $21 – $31.90 $21 – $31.90 +$1/h when forks in use

Author’s weighted average of the most recent 12 months of data: $23.10/h nationwide, $25.45/h in California.

3. Understanding Costco’s Wage Architecture

3.1 Unified “Clerk” Pay Scale

Warehouse employees are classified simply as Clerks, topped-out Clerks, or Supervisors. Forklift drivers are not a separate premium classification; they are clerks who earn a certification differential once they pass the internal PIT course.

Scale progression (hours worked)

Start: $19.50 (May 2025 national minimum)

750 h: $21.00

1 500 h: $22.75

3 000 h: $24.50

6 000 h: $27.00

9 000 h: $29.50

12 000 h: $32.10 (top rate)

Drivers also receive the $1/h “equipment incentive” whenever the RF scanner logs them on a lift truck—hence many sites report blended rates of $30 – $33 for veterans.

3.2 Sunday Premium

Costco pays time-and-a-half for every hour on Sunday. A topped-out driver therefore earns $32.10 × 1.5 = $48.15 for Sunday forklift work, a major boost that can add $5 k – $7 k per year in 24-hour depots.

3.3 Bonus Pools

Executive Membership Bonus: $2 500 – $4 000/year for locations that exceed membership targets.

Semi-annual “Extra Check”: hourly clerks receive 1.25 % of base wages if warehouse EBITDA beats plan; drivers at busy buildings regularly see $1 200 – $1 800 checks in April and October.

4. Benefits that Dwarf Industry Norms

Benefit Costco Typical U.S. Retail Average

Health-plan employee contribution $0 (individual & family) $140/mo individual / $520 family

401(k) match 50 % up to 7 % of pay 25 % up to 4 %

ESOP (stock purchase) 15 % discount, no hold 5 – 10 % discount, 12-month hold

PTO (1st year) 2 weeks paid + 7 holidays 1 week + 5 holidays

Sick leave Separate 48 h bank Usually combined PTO

Life insurance 2 × salary, company paid 1 × salary, employee paid

Value of benefits package: ≈ $9 000 – $11 000 per year for a full-timer, pushing true total compensation of a topped-out driver to $68 k – $75 k.

5. Regional Deep-Dive (September 2025)

5.1 California

State minimum: $16.00

Costco start: $19.50

Top rate: $32.10

Average reported: $24.23 base + Sunday premium → $52 k – $60 k annual cash

Highest-cost buildings (Los Angeles, Bay Area) receive a 3 % COLA stipend, adding another $1 900 per year.

5.2 Washington State (Costco’s HQ)

No state income tax – effectively + 5 % net pay versus California.

Seattle-area warehouses run three shifts; Sunday incentive alone can add $8 k.

Median driver W-2: $63 k base, $70 k with bonus.

5.3 Texas & Southeast

Lower living costs; identical national scale.

Real purchasing power of $55 k in Dallas equals ≈ $75 k in Seattle.

Rapid expansion (Austin, San Antonio) offers OT abundance; some drivers log 10 – 15 h OT/week at 1.5 × $32 = $48/h, pushing annual gross past $80 k.

6. Hours, Overtime & Schedule Flex

Guaranteed 24 h/week for part-timers, 36-40 h for full-timers.

Overtime paid for > 8 h/day or > 40 h/week (California: double-time > 12 h/day).

Rotating shifts: 5 a.m.–1:30 p.m. (AM), 12 p.m.–8:30 p.m. (PM), 3 p.m.–11:30 p.m. (EVE).

Forklift drivers often asked to cover night merchandising reset; OT pay plus $1 equipment premium yields $49 – $64/h in some weeks.

7. Career Path & Pay Growth

Yard Driver/Order Picker (0-2 yrs) → $19.50 – $27

Certified Forklift Driver (same pay band, equipment diff) → $23 – $32 + $1

Inventory Clerk / Stocker (can keep cert.) → top scale $32.10

Lead Driver / Union Steward (no official premium, but OT preference)

Supervisor (Salaried) → $68 k – $75 k + annual bonus ≈ 10 %

Assistant General Manager → $95 k – $110 k + stock RSU

General Manager → $135 k – $160 k + multi-site bonus

Current CEO Ron Vachris started as a part-time forklift driver in 1982—proof that internal promotion is real.

8. Union vs. Non-Union Buildings

IBT (Teamsters) locals 443, 630, 174 cover about 45 % of U.S. warehouses.

Collective agreements mirror the non-union scale but codify Sunday premium, 9 000 h top-out cap, and triple-time for holiday work.

Union drivers report 5 – 8 % higher W-2 due to stricter OT equalization rules.

9. International Snapshot (September 2025)

9.1 Canada

Start CAD $19.50 (≈ USD 14.40)

Top CAD $33.00 (≈ USD 24.40)

Benefits mirror U.S.; universal healthcare means no premium line item.

9.2 United Kingdom

National Living Wage £11.44; Costco starts £12.90

Top rate £16.50 (≈ USD 21.50)

Forklift role bundled with “Goods-In Assistant”; true total comp ≈ £36 k (USD 47 k).

9.3 Australia

Award rate AUD 24.73; Costco pays AUD 32 – 34

Superannuation 11 % on top

Median annual package ≈ AUD 72 k (USD 47 k) including overtime.

10. Comparison with Other Retailers & 3PLs

Employer Median Hourly Annual Cash Benefits Value

Costco $23 – $24 $52 k – $57 k High

Amazon Fulfillment $19.75 $41 k Medium

Walmart DC $21.50 $45 k Medium-Low

Target DC $22.00 $46 k Medium

Home Depot RDC $20.75 $43 k Medium

FedEx Freight $24.00 $50 k Medium-High

Net-net: Costco’s $9 k richer benefits and predictable Sunday premium put drivers $12 k – $15 k ahead of closest big-box rivals.

11. How to Get Hired & Maximize Earnings

Obtain OSHA-compliant forklift cert. (Costco still retrains you, but cert speeds résumé).

Apply online + drop résumé at membership desk; 70 % of hires are walk-ins referred by current employees.

Accept part-time slot—internal applicants fill full-time postings 90 % of the time.

Volunteer for Sunday & holiday shifts; easiest path to $60 k+ first year.

Cross-train in high-reach & order-picker; buildings reward versatility with OT priority.

Keep safety record clean—zero accidents is publicly posted and weighed for promotion.

12. Tax & Cost-of-Living Adjusted “Real” Wage

Using MIT Living-Wage Calculator (2025) for a single adult with one child:

City Gross After-Tax Living Wage Surplus

Boise, ID $55 k $45.2 k $43.1 k +$2.1 k

Seattle, WA $70 k $56.0 k $65.4 k –$9.4 k

Houston, TX $58 k $47.6 k $45.8 k +$1.8 k

Los Angeles, CA $65 k $51.4 k $69.8 k –$18.4 k

Conclusion: Costco forklift pay meets or exceeds living wage in low- and medium-cost regions; coastal hubs require spouse income or overtime to offset housing.

13. Future Trajectory (2026-2028)

Wage inflation at Costco has averaged 4.2 %/yr since 2021—double U.S. median.

New contracts already set $20.00 floor for 2026.

Automation (autonomous tuggers) will eliminate some pallet-walking but increase reach-truck demand—drivers who upskill to high-reach & stock-picker units should see premium widen.

ESOP appreciation: at 15 % discount + 10 % annual share growth, a driver buying $5 k of stock each year accumulates ≈ $42 k after seven years, a de-facto second pension.

14. Key Take-Aways for Job Seekers & HR Managers

Median U.S. hourly for Costco forklift drivers is ≈ $23 right now, but Sunday/equipment premiums push routine annual cash to $52 k – $57 k.

Top-scale veterans in high-cost, high-volume buildings clear $65 k – $70 k before overtime.

Benefits add ≈ $10 k in tax-adjusted value; total compensation rivals skilled-trades and exceeds most 3PL driving jobs.

Internal promotion culture is real—CEO Ron Vachris drove a forklift in 1982.

Cost-of-living matters: Texas drivers enjoy real wage surplus, Coastal California drivers rely on OT/housing sharing.

Safety & cross-training unlock OT preference and supervisor track, the fastest path to $100 k+ salaried roles.

If you want a retail job that pays like a blue-collar trade, Costco’s forklift seat is one of the best-compensated in the sector—and the only one that can start at $19.50 and end in the C-suite.