High paying transportation jobs in Wilmington, NC

Every transportation occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Wilmington, NC. 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 Wilmington, NC run 3.6% below the national average (2024), so a Wilmington, NC salary is worth about 1.04× 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 Wilmington, NC

OccupationMedian, Wilmington, NC · Employed

1Crane and Tower Operators$68,670
High school diploma or equivalent
$56,670 – $85,87060
2Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels$63,190
Postsecondary nondegree award
$40,410 – $102,190150
3First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors$59,660
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,430 – $89,180890
4Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$48,850
Postsecondary nondegree award
$37,210 – $71,4801,840
5Sailors and Marine Oilers$46,910
No formal educational credential
$36,410 – $59,03060
6Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$45,270
No formal educational credential
$27,870 – $54,120260
7Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$42,210
No formal educational credential
$35,370 – $57,340350
8Light Truck Drivers$39,070
High school diploma or equivalent
$27,170 – $62,7201,170
9Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$37,160
No formal educational credential
$29,630 – $64,6003,310
10Bus Drivers, School$36,490
High school diploma or equivalent
$27,840 – $43,510140
11Stockers and Order Fillers$35,300
No formal educational credential
$29,450 – $46,1403,430
12Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$34,930
No formal educational credential
$29,820 – $36,280160
13Driver/Sales Workers$33,130
High school diploma or equivalent
$17,200 – $59,170800
14Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$31,950
No formal educational credential
$22,200 – $40,480570
15Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$31,270
No formal educational credential
$23,620 – $42,140220
16Parking Attendants$30,940
No formal educational credential
$28,750 – $36,410120
17Packers and Packagers, Hand$30,460
No formal educational credential
$22,500 – $41,180310
18Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other$29,070
No formal educational credential
$15,080 – $51,07070

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

#	Occupation	MedianWilmington, NC	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Crane and Tower OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$68,670	$56,670 – $85,870	60
2	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water VesselsPostsecondary nondegree award	$63,190	$40,410 – $102,190	150
3	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling SupervisorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,660	$41,430 – $89,180	890
4	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$48,850	$37,210 – $71,480	1,840
5	Sailors and Marine OilersNo formal educational credential	$46,910	$36,410 – $59,030	60
6	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$45,270	$27,870 – $54,120	260
7	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$42,210	$35,370 – $57,340	350
8	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,070	$27,170 – $62,720	1,170
9	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$37,160	$29,630 – $64,600	3,310
10	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$36,490	$27,840 – $43,510	140
11	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$35,300	$29,450 – $46,140	3,430
12	Automotive and Watercraft Service AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$34,930	$29,820 – $36,280	160
13	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$33,130	$17,200 – $59,170	800
14	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$31,950	$22,200 – $40,480	570
15	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$31,270	$23,620 – $42,140	220
16	Parking AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$30,940	$28,750 – $36,410	120
17	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$30,460	$22,500 – $41,180	310
18	Motor Vehicle Operators, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$29,070	$15,080 – $51,070	70

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Wilmington, NC. 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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The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Wilmington, NC to rank honestly.

High paying transportation jobs in Wilmington, NC

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