What Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators earn in Cobb County, GA
According to the latest federal wage data for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan area, the median pay for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators in Cobb County, GA is $44,710 a year, or $21.50 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $36,355 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Cobb County, GA.
The mean wage is $47,160, which is 5.5% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 28,750 people working in this occupation across the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Cobb County, GA has roughly 775,208 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $36,740 a year ($17.66 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $63,620 or more ($30.59 an hour). That is a gap of $26,880 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $39,630 at the 25th percentile and $48,730 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.7 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $21.50 an hour or $44,710 a year at the median for Cobb County, GA. Before any deductions, that is $3,726 a month, $1,720 every two weeks and $860 each week. After taxes the same job pays $17.48 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators this way: "Operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Move controls to drive gasoline- or electric-powered trucks, cars, or tractors and transport materials between loading, processing, and storage areas"; "Move levers or controls that operate lifting devices, such as forklifts, lift beams with swivel-hooks, hoists, or elevating platforms, to load, unload, transport, or stack material"; "Position lifting devices under, over, or around loaded pallets, skids, or boxes and secure material or products for transport to designated areas"; "Inspect product load for accuracy and safely move it around the warehouse or facility to ensure timely and complete delivery".
Job outlook for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 765,200 jobs in 2025 to 776,300 in 2035, a change of +1.5%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 64,700 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 8.5% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: no formal educational credential. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $46,420 for this occupation; the Cobb County, GA median of $44,710 is 3.7% below it.
How pay in Cobb County, GA compares
Compared with the Georgia average
A worker in this occupation in Cobb County, GA earns $1,559 more than the Georgia average of $43,151, a premium of 3.6%. Over a year that premium is worth $1,559 before tax and roughly $1,268 after tax. Within Georgia, Cobb County, GA already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators is $46,731 across the contiguous United States. At $44,710, Cobb County, GA pays $2,021 less, which is 4.3% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Cobb County, GA
Among the 585 occupations with published wages in Cobb County, GA, Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators ranks number 457 by median pay, ahead of about 22% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers at $618,090 a year, which is $573,380 more than the median for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators earning the Cobb County, GA median of $44,710, they add up to $8,355. The result is $36,355 of take-home pay a year ($3,030 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $19 goes to taxes and $81 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 18.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $28,960. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,237, an effective 7.2% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,772 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $648. FICA totals $3,420, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Georgia
Georgia income tax on this salary is $1,698 a year, or 3.8% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 52% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $141 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Cobb County, GA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Cobb County, GA show an average adjusted gross income of $105,558 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 15.5% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.5%, compared with the 7.2% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Cobb County, GA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Cobb County, GA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $36,355 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Cobb County, GA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,619 a month ($19,428 a year), and at $1,762 for two bedrooms. For Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators, a one-bedroom absorbs 53.4% of take-home pay and 43.5% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 7.7% of gross pay for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators in Cobb County, GA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Georgia residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,488 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $720, for $2,207 in total. Gasoline in Georgia averages $2.95 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,366.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $26,437 a year in Cobb County, GA. Subtract that from $36,355 of take-home pay and $9,918 remains, which is $827 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 22.2% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Cobb County, GA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Cobb County, GA: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Cobb County, GA, set beside the Georgia and national medians.
Property taxes in Cobb County, GA
Homeowners in Cobb County, GA pay a median of $2,720 a year in real estate taxes, 16% above the Georgia median of $2,341 and 13% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $407,200, the median tax bill is 0.67% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators median of $44,710, a tax bill of that size would equal 6.1% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Cobb County, GA
Renters in Cobb County, GA pay a median gross rent of $1,730 a month in the Census survey, 24% above the Georgia median of $1,393. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,619 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $407,200, 34% above the Georgia median of $303,300. Median household income is $102,738, 33% above the Georgia median of $77,353, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 18.9% of that income.
Commuting in Cobb County, GA
Workers in Cobb County, GA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 29.4 minutes each way, 4% above the Georgia average of 28.3. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.9 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 23.6% of workers in Cobb County, GA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators afford to live in Cobb County, GA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $44,710 that ceiling is $1,118 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,619 is $501 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $31.13 an hour; the median for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators is $21.50, which is 31% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $17.48 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 21.4 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,762 a month means $881 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $8,856 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $18,774.
How fast you can save
At $827 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 13 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 26 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators pay in Cobb County, GA
How much do Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators make per hour in Cobb County, GA?
The median is $21.50 per hour, based on $44,710 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $17.66 at the 10th percentile to $30.59 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators take home after taxes in Cobb County, GA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $44,710 becomes $36,355 a year. That is $3,030 a month, $1,398 every two weeks or $699 a week.
How much tax do Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators pay in Cobb County, GA?
Total taxes are $8,355 a year, an effective rate of 18.7%: $3,237 federal income tax, $3,420 FICA and $1,698 Georgia income tax.
Do Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators earn more in Cobb County, GA than elsewhere in Georgia?
Yes. The local median of $44,710 is +3.6% versus the Georgia average of $43,151, a difference of $1,559 a year.
Can Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators afford a one-bedroom apartment in Cobb County, GA?
A one-bedroom costs $1,619 a month against take-home pay of $3,030, which is 53.4% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,118 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators in Cobb County, GA?
About $827 a month ($9,918 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $26,437 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Cobb County, GA at the 30% guideline?
$31.13 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $19,428 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators is $21.50.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Georgia rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.