High paying transportation jobs in North Carolina

Every transportation occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in North Carolina. 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 North Carolina run 5.7% below the national average (2024), so a North Carolina salary is worth about 1.06× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in North Carolina.

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

Find transportation jobs in North Carolina

OccupationMedian, North Carolina · Employed

1Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers$151,540
Bachelor's degree
$97,700 – $206,7002,240
2First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors$60,070
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,020 – $85,85021,540
3Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$51,530
Postsecondary nondegree award
$39,400 – $76,36062,400
4Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$44,670
No formal educational credential
$25,140 – $58,5707,250
5Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity$44,060
High school diploma or equivalent
$35,610 – $57,3302,900
6Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$43,420
No formal educational credential
$35,940 – $56,00026,830
7Light Truck Drivers$39,910
High school diploma or equivalent
$26,490 – $61,34031,810
8Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$38,230
No formal educational credential
$30,010 – $47,590116,720
9Bus Drivers, School$37,460
High school diploma or equivalent
$32,270 – $46,96012,390
10Machine Feeders and Offbearers$37,370
No formal educational credential
$30,260 – $48,1302,040
11Driver/Sales Workers$36,540
High school diploma or equivalent
$18,260 – $60,39014,530
12Stockers and Order Fillers$35,950
No formal educational credential
$29,140 – $46,98087,510
13Packers and Packagers, Hand$34,360
No formal educational credential
$24,500 – $45,35019,600
14Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$33,680
No formal educational credential
$28,920 – $42,1602,790
15Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$33,470
No formal educational credential
$22,530 – $44,52013,820
16Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$31,980
No formal educational credential
$24,150 – $46,3205,520
17Parking Attendants$30,540
No formal educational credential
$17,000 – $38,6302,930
18Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other$29,000
No formal educational credential
$15,880 – $45,4702,000

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

#	Occupation	MedianNorth Carolina	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight EngineersBachelor's degree	$151,540	$97,700 – $206,700	2,240
2	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling SupervisorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,070	$41,020 – $85,850	21,540
3	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$51,530	$39,400 – $76,360	62,400
4	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$44,670	$25,140 – $58,570	7,250
5	Bus Drivers, Transit and IntercityHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,060	$35,610 – $57,330	2,900
6	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$43,420	$35,940 – $56,000	26,830
7	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,910	$26,490 – $61,340	31,810
8	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$38,230	$30,010 – $47,590	116,720
9	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$37,460	$32,270 – $46,960	12,390
10	Machine Feeders and OffbearersNo formal educational credential	$37,370	$30,260 – $48,130	2,040
11	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,540	$18,260 – $60,390	14,530
12	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$35,950	$29,140 – $46,980	87,510
13	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$34,360	$24,500 – $45,350	19,600
14	Automotive and Watercraft Service AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$33,680	$28,920 – $42,160	2,790
15	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$33,470	$22,530 – $44,520	13,820
16	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$31,980	$24,150 – $46,320	5,520
17	Parking AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$30,540	$17,000 – $38,630	2,930
18	Motor Vehicle Operators, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$29,000	$15,880 – $45,470	2,000

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in North Carolina. 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.

More for North Carolina

Metro areas in North Carolina

Pay varies more between metros than between states — the spread inside one state is often wider than the gap between two.

By field in North Carolina

Without a degree

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

High paying transportation jobs in North Carolina

More for North Carolina

Metro areas in North Carolina

By field in North Carolina

Without a degree

High paying transportation jobs in each state