High paying transportation jobs in Michigan with no degree

The best paid transportation occupations in Michigan that require no bachelor's degree — a high school diploma, a certificate, or an associate's degree is the typical entry. This is the narrowest cut on the site, so it is also the shortest list: where a field has only two or three such occupations, there is no page at all rather than a page pretending otherwise.

Cost of living: prices in Michigan run 3.8% below the national average (2024), so a Michigan 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. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in Michigan.

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

Find transportation jobs in Michigan

OccupationMedian, Michigan · Employed

1First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors$60,280
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,490 – $89,55014,600
2Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$57,180
Postsecondary nondegree award
$40,280 – $73,98060,800
3Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$51,030
No formal educational credential
$34,150 – $76,3604,020
4Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity$47,660
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,020 – $65,7103,620
5Bus Drivers, School$46,380
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,860 – $54,5008,780
6Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$45,220
No formal educational credential
$37,200 – $71,15023,470
7Light Truck Drivers$43,000
High school diploma or equivalent
$29,470 – $83,46026,160
8Driver/Sales Workers$39,610
High school diploma or equivalent
$25,960 – $58,73015,490
9Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$38,860
No formal educational credential
$30,220 – $52,08079,410
10Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$36,330
No formal educational credential
$28,900 – $45,0405,870
11Stockers and Order Fillers$35,930
No formal educational credential
$30,070 – $47,90082,730
12Packers and Packagers, Hand$35,340
No formal educational credential
$29,400 – $43,86015,590
13Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other$33,990
No formal educational credential
$26,490 – $39,7402,600
14Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$33,890
No formal educational credential
$25,960 – $45,14010,320
15Parking Attendants$33,690
No formal educational credential
$26,270 – $38,1703,210
16Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants$31,280
No formal educational credential
$26,650 – $38,5503,390

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

#	Occupation	MedianMichigan	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	$60,280	$42,490 – $89,550	14,600
2	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$57,180	$40,280 – $73,980	60,800
3	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$51,030	$34,150 – $76,360	4,020
4	Bus Drivers, Transit and IntercityHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,660	$38,020 – $65,710	3,620
5	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,380	$37,860 – $54,500	8,780
6	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$45,220	$37,200 – $71,150	23,470
7	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$43,000	$29,470 – $83,460	26,160
8	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,610	$25,960 – $58,730	15,490
9	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$38,860	$30,220 – $52,080	79,410
10	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$36,330	$28,900 – $45,040	5,870
11	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$35,930	$30,070 – $47,900	82,730
12	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$35,340	$29,400 – $43,860	15,590
13	Motor Vehicle Operators, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$33,990	$26,490 – $39,740	2,600
14	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$33,890	$25,960 – $45,140	10,320
15	Parking AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$33,690	$26,270 – $38,170	3,210
16	Automotive and Watercraft Service AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$31,280	$26,650 – $38,550	3,390

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

Metro areas in Michigan

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

By field in Michigan

Without a degree

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

High paying transportation jobs in Michigan with no degree

More for Michigan

Metro areas in Michigan

By field in Michigan

Without a degree

High paying transportation jobs in each state with no degree