Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary
SOC 53-3032 · BLS OEWS May 2025
What the range looks like
A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.
- 10th
- $40,140
- 25th
- $47,960
- Median
- $58,640
- 75th
- $69,120
- 90th
- $79,380
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn the most
Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | State | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $70,100 | 102.4 | 3,420 | 0.79× |
| 2 | Washington | $64,760 | 107.0 | 40,530 | 0.86× |
| 3 | District of Columbia | $64,170 | 109.9 | 830 | 0.09× |
| 4 | New Jersey | $63,570 | 108.8 | 47,980 | 0.84× |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $63,030 | 105.8 | 30,890 | 0.64× |
| 6 | Nevada | $62,290 | 100.0 | 15,010 | 0.73× |
| 7 | New York | $62,050 | 107.9 | 63,700 | 0.50× |
| 8 | Minnesota | $61,990 | 98.6 | 38,770 | 0.99× |
| 9 | Oregon | $61,980 | 103.4 | 23,970 | 0.92× |
| 10 | Colorado | $61,500 | 103.1 | 25,350 | 0.67× |
| 11 | North Dakota | $60,910 | 89.0 | 11,870 | 2.08× |
| 12 | Vermont | $60,830 | 98.0 | 3,560 | 0.88× |
| 13 | Utah | $60,620 | 98.9 | 25,060 | 1.09× |
| 14 | Connecticut | $60,490 | 103.6 | 15,740 | 0.70× |
| 15 | Illinois | $60,320 | 100.0 | 84,200 | 1.04× |
| 16 | Wyoming | $60,310 | 92.7 | 6,050 | 1.63× |
| 17 | Indiana | $60,290 | 93.3 | 59,090 | 1.39× |
| 18 | New Hampshire | $60,280 | 104.2 | 6,960 | 0.77× |
| 19 | California | $60,230 | 110.7 | 205,090 | 0.85× |
| 20 | Rhode Island | $60,190 | 102.3 | 3,620 | 0.55× |
| 21 | Hawaii | $59,820 | 110.0 | 4,070 | 0.49× |
| 22 | Ohio | $59,800 | 92.8 | 83,060 | 1.13× |
| 23 | Maryland | $59,360 | 105.0 | 29,150 | 0.80× |
| 24 | Kansas | $58,920 | 90.1 | 24,220 | 1.27× |
| 25 | Montana | $58,870 | 94.6 | 7,830 | 1.15× |
| 26 | Idaho | $58,770 | 95.5 | 15,920 | 1.40× |
| 27 | South Dakota | $58,690 | 88.6 | 6,470 | 1.07× |
| 28 | Tennessee | $58,620 | 91.9 | 64,890 | 1.49× |
| 29 | Wisconsin | $58,610 | 94.1 | 53,330 | 1.37× |
| 30 | Pennsylvania | $58,580 | 97.6 | 87,550 | 1.09× |
| 31 | Nebraska | $58,390 | 90.1 | 23,160 | 1.70× |
| 32 | Arizona | $58,080 | 100.7 | 40,150 | 0.93× |
| 33 | Iowa | $58,070 | 87.8 | 35,040 | 1.69× |
| 34 | Delaware | $57,590 | 99.8 | 9,040 | 1.41× |
| 35 | Michigan | $57,180 | 96.2 | 60,800 | 1.04× |
| 36 | Georgia | $57,050 | 96.3 | 74,840 | 1.15× |
| 37 | Maine | $57,050 | 97.0 | 9,980 | 1.18× |
| 38 | Virginia | $56,860 | 101.1 | 48,750 | 0.89× |
| 39 | Kentucky | $56,340 | 90.2 | 31,760 | 1.20× |
| 40 | Texas | $56,290 | 97.1 | 209,680 | 1.12× |
| 41 | Missouri | $54,550 | 90.8 | 47,760 | 1.23× |
| 42 | Oklahoma | $54,410 | 87.8 | 27,840 | 1.23× |
| 43 | Alabama | $52,120 | 88.8 | 36,650 | 1.31× |
| 44 | Mississippi | $51,820 | 87.0 | 24,160 | 1.57× |
| 45 | Arkansas | $51,550 | 86.9 | 32,220 | 1.86× |
| 46 | North Carolina | $51,530 | 94.3 | 62,400 | 0.95× |
| 47 | South Carolina | $51,130 | 93.7 | 34,170 | 1.12× |
| 48 | Florida | $50,640 | 103.4 | 112,920 | 0.86× |
| 49 | New Mexico | $50,500 | 92.2 | 11,820 | 1.02× |
| 50 | West Virginia | $49,480 | 89.5 | 12,190 | 1.31× |
| 51 | Louisiana | $49,320 | 88.2 | 28,540 | 1.11× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers
The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln, NE | $81,790 | 91.6 | 4,530 | 1.87× |
| 2 | Fairbanks-College, AK | $76,560 | 103.2 | 590 | 1.21× |
| 3 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $71,240 | 111.1 | 21,230 | 0.77× |
| 4 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $70,730 | 110.4 | 5,360 | 0.36× |
| 5 | Morristown, TN | $67,330 | 86.4 | 1,470 | 2.34× |
| 6 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $66,450 | 115.6 | 16,450 | 0.52× |
| 7 | Anchorage, AK | $66,190 | 105.4 | 1,620 | 0.69× |
| 8 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $65,040 | 112.6 | 65,100 | 0.52× |
| 9 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $64,200 | 104.8 | 20,430 | 0.79× |
| 10 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $64,010 | 108.3 | 20,090 | 0.56× |
| 11 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $63,900 | 105.8 | 14,320 | 0.67× |
| 12 | Boulder, CO | $63,810 | 105.2 | 650 | 0.26× |
| 13 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $63,800 | 105.4 | 14,370 | 0.90× |
| 14 | Reno, NV | $63,790 | 101.0 | 4,170 | 1.14× |
| 15 | Cheyenne, WY | $63,540 | 96.5 | 1,060 | 1.64× |
| 16 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $63,420 | 109.4 | 530 | 0.55× |
| 17 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | $63,070 | 92.2 | 19,460 | 2.40× |
| 18 | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | $63,040 | 103.7 | 1,210 | 0.70× |
| 19 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | $62,980 | 100.3 | 3,890 | 1.15× |
| 20 | Longview-Kelso, WA | $62,930 | 97.5 | 770 | 1.42× |
| 21 | Bozeman, MT | $62,780 | 102.5 | 770 | 0.80× |
| 22 | Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | $62,760 | 109.4 | 3,330 | 0.93× |
| 23 | Barnstable Town, MA | $62,740 | 98.4 | 840 | 0.67× |
| 24 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $62,710 | 105.6 | 430 | 0.34× |
| 25 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $62,620 | 107.8 | 1,860 | 0.69× |
| 26 | Kennewick-Richland, WA | $62,520 | 100.1 | 2,100 | 1.22× |
| 27 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | $62,460 | 100.9 | 1,210 | 0.76× |
| 28 | Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | $62,310 | 100.9 | 12,340 | 1.13× |
| 29 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $62,300 | 103.6 | 62,210 | 1.04× |
| 30 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | $62,240 | 102.4 | 670 | 0.96× |
| 31 | Rochester, MN | $62,180 | 90.8 | 1,260 | 0.77× |
| 32 | Bismarck, ND | $62,000 | 91.0 | 1,070 | 1.13× |
| 33 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | $61,980 | 95.7 | 20,480 | 1.40× |
| 34 | Iowa City, IA | $61,960 | 91.5 | 2,360 | 1.90× |
| 35 | St. Cloud, MN | $61,960 | 87.6 | 2,140 | 1.55× |
| 36 | Dothan, AL | $61,900 | 83.8 | 1,640 | 2.04× |
| 37 | Bellingham, WA | $61,890 | 103.3 | 1,200 | 0.99× |
| 38 | Columbus, OH | $61,720 | 95.5 | 16,110 | 1.10× |
| 39 | Kenosha, WI | $61,610 | 101.1 | 1,260 | 1.26× |
| 40 | Worcester, MA | $61,610 | 102.5 | 4,470 | 0.96× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Similar occupations
Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.