High paying transportation jobs in Paducah, KY-IL

Every transportation occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Paducah, KY-IL. 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 Paducah, KY-IL run 13.9% below the national average (2024), so a Paducah, KY-IL salary is worth about 1.16× 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 Paducah, KY-IL

OccupationMedian, Paducah, KY-IL · Employed

1Crane and Tower Operators$63,070
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,740 – $83,45030
2Conveyor Operators and Tenders$59,140
No formal educational credential
$49,460 – $81,33050
3First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors$59,120
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,680 – $120,100210
4Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$50,520
Postsecondary nondegree award
$38,990 – $74,490660
5Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$48,460
No formal educational credential
$32,970 – $53,54040
6Sailors and Marine Oilers$47,550
No formal educational credential
$38,140 – $62,0801,070
7Light Truck Drivers$41,720
High school diploma or equivalent
$27,910 – $96,830540
8Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$39,460
No formal educational credential
$32,520 – $62,040100
9Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$38,110
No formal educational credential
$29,070 – $47,990940
10Bus Drivers, School$37,750
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,550 – $47,230130
11Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$33,290
No formal educational credential
$26,510 – $46,240110
12Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$33,190
No formal educational credential
$25,100 – $36,77040
13Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$33,170
No formal educational credential
$20,850 – $44,18040
14Stockers and Order Fillers$33,120
No formal educational credential
$28,170 – $42,230760
15Packers and Packagers, Hand$32,830
No formal educational credential
$27,830 – $37,07090
16Driver/Sales Workers$31,200
High school diploma or equivalent
$19,060 – $56,790160
17Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other$20,800
No formal educational credential
$19,700 – $24,51030

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

#	Occupation	MedianPaducah, KY-IL	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Crane and Tower OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$63,070	$45,740 – $83,450	30
2	Conveyor Operators and TendersNo formal educational credential	$59,140	$49,460 – $81,330	50
3	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling SupervisorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,120	$40,680 – $120,100	210
4	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$50,520	$38,990 – $74,490	660
5	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$48,460	$32,970 – $53,540	40
6	Sailors and Marine OilersNo formal educational credential	$47,550	$38,140 – $62,080	1,070
7	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$41,720	$27,910 – $96,830	540
8	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$39,460	$32,520 – $62,040	100
9	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$38,110	$29,070 – $47,990	940
10	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$37,750	$37,550 – $47,230	130
11	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$33,290	$26,510 – $46,240	110
12	Automotive and Watercraft Service AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$33,190	$25,100 – $36,770	40
13	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$33,170	$20,850 – $44,180	40
14	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$33,120	$28,170 – $42,230	760
15	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$32,830	$27,830 – $37,070	90
16	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$31,200	$19,060 – $56,790	160
17	Motor Vehicle Operators, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$20,800	$19,700 – $24,510	30

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Paducah, KY-IL. 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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By field in Paducah, KY-IL

Without a degree

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

High paying transportation jobs in Paducah, KY-IL

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