High paying transportation jobs in Knoxville, TN

Every transportation occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Knoxville, TN. 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 Knoxville, TN run 7.4% below the national average (2024), so a Knoxville, TN salary is worth about 1.08× 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 Knoxville, TN

OccupationMedian, Knoxville, TN · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors$60,160
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,000 – $94,4001,950
2Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$59,100
Postsecondary nondegree award
$39,670 – $79,0408,130
3Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$51,030
No formal educational credential
$24,830 – $60,200350
4Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$42,410
No formal educational credential
$35,260 – $57,8301,640
5Driver/Sales Workers$39,800
High school diploma or equivalent
$20,450 – $51,1101,290
6Light Truck Drivers$39,330
High school diploma or equivalent
$28,650 – $58,9103,820
7Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$37,400
No formal educational credential
$29,580 – $48,55010,120
8Packers and Packagers, Hand$36,410
No formal educational credential
$24,710 – $45,5401,540
9Stockers and Order Fillers$35,410
No formal educational credential
$30,010 – $47,3607,730
10Transportation Workers, All Other$34,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$24,350 – $61,520210
11Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$33,890
No formal educational credential
$23,910 – $45,3301,290
12Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$31,400
No formal educational credential
$27,960 – $47,920520
13Bus Drivers, School$31,340
High school diploma or equivalent
$25,740 – $48,980730
14Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$30,720
No formal educational credential
$21,670 – $38,160440
15Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other$30,410
No formal educational credential
$19,790 – $49,920280

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

#	Occupation	MedianKnoxville, TN	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling SupervisorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,160	$41,000 – $94,400	1,950
2	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$59,100	$39,670 – $79,040	8,130
3	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$51,030	$24,830 – $60,200	350
4	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$42,410	$35,260 – $57,830	1,640
5	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,800	$20,450 – $51,110	1,290
6	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,330	$28,650 – $58,910	3,820
7	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$37,400	$29,580 – $48,550	10,120
8	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$36,410	$24,710 – $45,540	1,540
9	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$35,410	$30,010 – $47,360	7,730
10	Transportation Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$34,390	$24,350 – $61,520	210
11	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$33,890	$23,910 – $45,330	1,290
12	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$31,400	$27,960 – $47,920	520
13	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$31,340	$25,740 – $48,980	730
14	Automotive and Watercraft Service AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$30,720	$21,670 – $38,160	440
15	Motor Vehicle Operators, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$30,410	$19,790 – $49,920	280

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Knoxville, TN. 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 Knoxville, TN to rank honestly.

High paying transportation jobs in Knoxville, TN

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