High paying transportation jobs in Columbus, OH

Every transportation occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Columbus, OH. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single transportation job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in Columbus, OH run 4.5% below the national average (2024), so a Columbus, OH salary is worth about 1.05× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find transportation jobs in Columbus, OH

OccupationMedian, Columbus, OH · Employed

1Commercial Pilots$175,690
Postsecondary nondegree award
$60,300 – $216,2701,410
2Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity$73,790
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,030 – $73,790700
3First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors$62,260
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,510 – $86,1505,570
4Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$61,720
Postsecondary nondegree award
$46,510 – $90,08016,110
5Machine Feeders and Offbearers$60,410
No formal educational credential
$38,170 – $60,730560
6Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$57,510
No formal educational credential
$37,500 – $63,380930
7Bus Drivers, School$47,380
High school diploma or equivalent
$27,120 – $92,170910
8Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$46,780
No formal educational credential
$39,010 – $66,90011,910
9Light Truck Drivers$43,800
High school diploma or equivalent
$27,930 – $67,2507,210
10Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$41,200
No formal educational credential
$32,520 – $52,37025,800
11Stockers and Order Fillers$39,040
No formal educational credential
$31,300 – $50,48030,130
12Packers and Packagers, Hand$38,090
No formal educational credential
$31,610 – $47,1006,050
13Driver/Sales Workers$36,730
High school diploma or equivalent
$22,640 – $56,7503,620
14Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$35,750
No formal educational credential
$28,910 – $45,3402,240
15Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$35,490
No formal educational credential
$29,390 – $42,290600
16Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$34,860
No formal educational credential
$28,610 – $51,6501,710
17Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other$30,860
No formal educational credential
$23,550 – $76,670410
18Parking Attendants$29,960
No formal educational credential
$29,120 – $37,5101,140

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianColumbus, OH	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Commercial PilotsPostsecondary nondegree award	$175,690	$60,300 – $216,270	1,410
2	Bus Drivers, Transit and IntercityHigh school diploma or equivalent	$73,790	$45,030 – $73,790	700
3	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling SupervisorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$62,260	$46,510 – $86,150	5,570
4	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$61,720	$46,510 – $90,080	16,110
5	Machine Feeders and OffbearersNo formal educational credential	$60,410	$38,170 – $60,730	560
6	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$57,510	$37,500 – $63,380	930
7	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,380	$27,120 – $92,170	910
8	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$46,780	$39,010 – $66,900	11,910
9	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,800	$27,930 – $67,250	7,210
10	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$41,200	$32,520 – $52,370	25,800
11	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$39,040	$31,300 – $50,480	30,130
12	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$38,090	$31,610 – $47,100	6,050
13	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,730	$22,640 – $56,750	3,620
14	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$35,750	$28,910 – $45,340	2,240
15	Automotive and Watercraft Service AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$35,490	$29,390 – $42,290	600
16	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$34,860	$28,610 – $51,650	1,710
17	Motor Vehicle Operators, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$30,860	$23,550 – $76,670	410
18	Parking AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$29,960	$29,120 – $37,510	1,140

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Columbus, OH. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

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Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Columbus, OH to rank honestly.

High paying transportation jobs in Columbus, OH

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Without a degree

High paying transportation jobs in each state