High paying transportation jobs in Rhode Island with no degree

The best paid transportation occupations in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island run 2.3% above the national average (2024), so a Rhode Island salary is worth about 0.98× 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 Rhode Island.

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

Find transportation jobs in Rhode Island

OccupationMedian, Rhode Island · Employed

1Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels$76,790
Postsecondary nondegree award
$39,360 – $163,510250
2First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors$72,750
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,620 – $100,6501,520
3Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$60,190
Postsecondary nondegree award
$45,600 – $75,1203,620
4Bus Drivers, School$58,700
High school diploma or equivalent
$47,780 – $67,1801,800
5Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors$55,970
No formal educational credential
$34,810 – $61,370470
6Sailors and Marine Oilers$48,860
No formal educational credential
$31,200 – $110,290210
7Light Truck Drivers$45,660
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,200 – $72,8103,110
8Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$45,010
No formal educational credential
$38,960 – $58,330780
9Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$41,690
No formal educational credential
$31,700 – $58,6906,760
10Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment$37,340
No formal educational credential
$31,200 – $51,990780
11Packers and Packagers, Hand$36,730
No formal educational credential
$31,200 – $48,3101,830
12Stockers and Order Fillers$36,470
No formal educational credential
$31,280 – $47,9406,660
13Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$36,300
No formal educational credential
$31,200 – $47,140790
14Parking Attendants$34,390
No formal educational credential
$31,200 – $44,610520
15Driver/Sales Workers$34,230
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,200 – $65,2801,260

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

#	Occupation	MedianRhode Island	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water VesselsPostsecondary nondegree award	$76,790	$39,360 – $163,510	250
2	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling SupervisorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$72,750	$49,620 – $100,650	1,520
3	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversPostsecondary nondegree award	$60,190	$45,600 – $75,120	3,620
4	Bus Drivers, SchoolHigh school diploma or equivalent	$58,700	$47,780 – $67,180	1,800
5	Refuse and Recyclable Material CollectorsNo formal educational credential	$55,970	$34,810 – $61,370	470
6	Sailors and Marine OilersNo formal educational credential	$48,860	$31,200 – $110,290	210
7	Light Truck DriversHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,660	$31,200 – $72,810	3,110
8	Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNo formal educational credential	$45,010	$38,960 – $58,330	780
9	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandNo formal educational credential	$41,690	$31,700 – $58,690	6,760
10	Cleaners of Vehicles and EquipmentNo formal educational credential	$37,340	$31,200 – $51,990	780
11	Packers and Packagers, HandNo formal educational credential	$36,730	$31,200 – $48,310	1,830
12	Stockers and Order FillersNo formal educational credential	$36,470	$31,280 – $47,940	6,660
13	Shuttle Drivers and ChauffeursNo formal educational credential	$36,300	$31,200 – $47,140	790
14	Parking AttendantsNo formal educational credential	$34,390	$31,200 – $44,610	520
15	Driver/Sales WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$34,230	$31,200 – $65,280	1,260

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

Metro areas in Rhode Island

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

Providence-Warwick

By field in Rhode Island

Without a degree

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

High paying transportation jobs in Rhode Island with no degree

More for Rhode Island

Metro areas in Rhode Island

By field in Rhode Island

Without a degree

High paying transportation jobs in each state with no degree