Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
The national median wage for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers is $54,320 across 2.0M jobs. After cost of living, Houston goes furthest at $67,574, and 41 of 78 metros beat the national median once prices are counted.
What the job pays, metro to metro
Each line runs from the lowest metro to the highest. The mark is the national median.
BLS OES, latest release
78 metro areas tracked
Best value: top metros by cost-adjusted wage
Wages adjusted for local cost of living. A longer blue bar means the salary goes further there.
All metro areas
Sorted by cost-adjusted wage. Tap a column head to re-sort; metro names link to the city page where we track one.
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | TX | $65,547 | $67,574 | 33,153 | 25.0 |
| 2 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | NY | $71,113 | $65,845 | 61,135 | 25.0 |
| 3 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | TX | $63,709 | $65,679 | 32,347 | 25.0 |
| 4 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | CA | $73,656 | $65,182 | 22,113 | 25.0 |
| 5 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | VA | $65,548 | $64,899 | 18,624 | 25.0 |
| 6 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | IL | $62,451 | $63,082 | 25,300 | 25.0 |
| 7 | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH | MA | $67,213 | $62,234 | 18,057 | 25.0 |
| 8 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | TX | $60,079 | $61,937 | 8,363 | 25.0 |
| 9 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $65,748 | $60,319 | 16,290 | 25.0 |
| 10 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | MI | $56,486 | $60,091 | 13,824 | 25.0 |
| 11 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | MN | $58,558 | $59,753 | 13,863 | 25.0 |
| 12 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | WI | $55,514 | $59,692 | 6,080 | 25.0 |
| 13 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | NC | $56,109 | $59,690 | 11,572 | 25.0 |
| 14 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | GA | $57,859 | $59,648 | 16,722 | 25.0 |
| 15 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | CT | $61,853 | $59,474 | 2,547 | 25.0 |
| 16 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | PA | $57,300 | $58,469 | 22,381 | 25.0 |
| 17 | Madison, WI | WI | $53,336 | $57,351 | 3,686 | 25.0 |
| 18 | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | CT | $59,558 | $57,267 | 4,146 | 25.0 |
| 19 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | NC | $53,624 | $57,047 | 4,626 | 25.0 |
| 20 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | OH | $52,319 | $56,868 | 6,953 | 25.0 |
| 21 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | IN | $52,279 | $56,825 | 6,309 | 25.0 |
| 22 | Kansas City, MO-KS | MO | $52,139 | $56,673 | 7,516 | 25.0 |
| 23 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | CO | $57,144 | $56,578 | 14,957 | 25.0 |
| 24 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | NE | $50,733 | $56,370 | 4,253 | 25.0 |
| 25 | Anchorage, AK | AK | $57,480 | $56,353 | 1,598 | 25.0 |
| 26 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | SC | $52,343 | $56,283 | 3,502 | 25.0 |
| 27 | St. Louis, MO-IL | MO | $51,671 | $56,164 | 10,349 | 25.0 |
| 28 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | IA | $49,937 | $56,109 | 2,505 | 25.0 |
| 29 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | RI | $56,625 | $56,064 | 4,602 | 25.0 |
| 30 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | LA | $49,256 | $55,973 | 4,145 | 25.0 |
| 31 | Columbus, OH | OH | $51,310 | $55,772 | 9,950 | 25.0 |
| 32 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | OH | $51,288 | $55,748 | 9,939 | 25.0 |
| 33 | Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN | TN | $51,766 | $55,662 | 8,149 | 25.0 |
| 34 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | OR | $58,175 | $55,405 | 12,111 | 25.0 |
| 35 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ | DE | $54,479 | $55,029 | 1,829 | 25.0 |
| 36 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | CA | $62,104 | $54,959 | 36,138 | 25.0 |
| 37 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $57,053 | $54,859 | 11,165 | 25.0 |
| 38 | Oklahoma City, OK | OK | $48,170 | $54,739 | 6,027 | 25.0 |
| 39 | Salt Lake City, UT | UT | $51,753 | $54,477 | 5,667 | 25.0 |
| 40 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | KY | $48,978 | $54,420 | 6,107 | 25.0 |
| 41 | Baton Rouge, LA | LA | $47,813 | $54,333 | 3,682 | 25.0 |
| 42 | Boise City, ID | ID | $49,309 | $54,186 | 3,110 | 25.0 |
| 43 | Albuquerque, NM | NM | $48,260 | $53,622 | 3,429 | 25.0 |
| 44 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | AZ | $53,808 | $53,275 | 15,604 | 25.0 |
| 45 | Fargo, ND-MN | ND | $47,344 | $53,196 | 1,244 | 25.0 |
| 46 | Columbia, SC | SC | $49,381 | $53,098 | 3,345 | 25.0 |
| 47 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | CA | $59,929 | $53,035 | 10,735 | 25.0 |
| 48 | Birmingham-Hoover, AL | AL | $47,586 | $52,873 | 3,031 | 25.0 |
| 49 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $51,058 | $52,637 | 1,303 | 25.0 |
| 50 | Portland-South Portland, ME | ME | $50,894 | $52,468 | 1,745 | 25.0 |
| 51 | Tulsa, OK | OK | $46,123 | $52,413 | 2,970 | 25.0 |
| 52 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | NH | $55,021 | $52,401 | 1,887 | 25.0 |
| 53 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $59,076 | $52,280 | 9,758 | 25.0 |
| 54 | Knoxville, TN | TN | $48,442 | $52,088 | 4,484 | 25.0 |
| 55 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | NV | $50,495 | $52,057 | 9,262 | 25.0 |
| 56 | Richmond, VA | VA | $52,566 | $52,046 | 6,544 | 25.0 |
| 57 | Honolulu, HI | HI | $56,515 | $51,849 | 2,300 | 25.0 |
| 58 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | VA | $52,109 | $51,593 | 4,288 | 25.0 |
| 59 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | FL | $53,135 | $51,587 | 20,796 | 25.0 |
| 60 | Pittsburgh, PA | PA | $50,443 | $51,472 | 9,631 | 25.0 |
| 61 | Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI | MI | $47,871 | $50,927 | 5,178 | 25.0 |
| 62 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | TX | $48,864 | $50,375 | 10,407 | 25.0 |
| 63 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | TN | $46,434 | $49,929 | 4,813 | 25.0 |
| 64 | Billings, MT | MT | $44,915 | $49,906 | 1,285 | 25.0 |
| 65 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | FL | $51,208 | $49,717 | 11,769 | 25.0 |
| 66 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | FL | $51,138 | $49,649 | 9,095 | 25.0 |
| 67 | Wichita, KS | KS | $44,537 | $49,486 | 2,401 | 25.0 |
| 68 | Cheyenne, WY | WY | $45,030 | $49,484 | 664 | 25.0 |
| 69 | Charleston, WV | WV | $44,459 | $49,399 | 723 | 25.0 |
| 70 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | AR | $42,954 | $49,372 | 3,615 | 25.0 |
| 71 | Jacksonville, FL | FL | $50,242 | $48,779 | 6,593 | 25.0 |
| 72 | Sioux Falls, SD | SD | $42,685 | $48,506 | 1,910 | 25.0 |
| 73 | Jackson, MS | MS | $42,168 | $48,469 | 2,459 | 25.0 |
| 74 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | NY | $51,092 | $47,307 | 3,347 | 25.0 |
| 75 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | CA | $52,776 | $46,704 | 20,340 | 25.0 |
| 76 | Tucson, AZ | AZ | $46,930 | $46,465 | 3,417 | 25.0 |
| 77 | Rochester, NY | NY | $49,528 | $45,859 | 4,096 | 25.0 |
| 78 | El Paso, TX | TX | $38,928 | $40,132 | 3,596 | 25.0 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers?
The national median annual wage for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers is $54,320, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) data.
Where do heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers earn the most after adjusting for cost of living?
After adjusting for local cost of living, the top-paying metro areas for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers are Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX ($67,574), New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($65,845), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX ($65,679).
How many metro areas have data for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers?
We show wage and employment estimates for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers across 78 metro areas in the United States. The national median wage is the latest BLS OES figure; individual metro values are modeled from it using local cost of living and regional labor-market patterns rather than taken from the published metro-level OES tables.