Truck driver salary by state: the 2025 BLS numbers, sortable
Steve Woods · Lead Dispatcher, TruckSprint
Steve Woods leads the TruckSprint dispatch desk and reviews every guide we publish. How we research and update guides.
Updated October 2026
Quick answer
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earned an annual mean wage of $59,710 nationwide in May 2025 (median $58,640), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Alaska paid the most at $69,520; Louisiana the least at $51,930. The full state-by-state table is below.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 53-3032 · checked 2026-10
These numbers come straight from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (occupation code 53-3032), the May 2025 estimates. That's the government's count of wage and salary drivers of trucks over 26,000 lb GVWR, which is most CDL work.
Truck driver pay by state: the full table
Sort any column, search for a state, or download the whole table as a CSV.
| United States | $59,710 | $58,640 | $28.71 | 2,062,040 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $69,520 | $70,100 | $33.42 | 3,420 |
| Washington | $68,230 | $64,760 | $32.80 | 40,530 |
| District of Columbia | $67,710 | $64,170 | $32.55 | 830 |
| New Jersey | $66,770 | $63,570 | $32.10 | 47,980 |
| New York | $65,780 | $62,050 | $31.63 | 63,700 |
| Nevada | $65,010 | $62,290 | $31.25 | 15,010 |
| Oregon | $64,080 | $61,980 | $30.81 | 23,970 |
| Colorado | $63,650 | $61,500 | $30.60 | 25,350 |
| Minnesota | $63,630 | $61,990 | $30.59 | 38,770 |
| Massachusetts | $63,570 | $63,030 | $30.56 | 30,890 |
| North Dakota | $63,330 | $60,910 | $30.45 | 11,870 |
| Wyoming | $63,180 | $60,310 | $30.37 | 6,050 |
| Illinois | $62,430 | $60,320 | $30.01 | 84,200 |
| California | $62,020 | $60,230 | $29.82 | 205,090 |
| Connecticut | $61,980 | $60,490 | $29.80 | 15,740 |
| Vermont | $61,100 | $60,830 | $29.37 | 3,560 |
| Indiana | $60,950 | $60,290 | $29.30 | 59,090 |
| Utah | $60,900 | $60,620 | $29.28 | 25,060 |
| Hawaii | $60,850 | $59,820 | $29.26 | 4,070 |
| Ohio | $60,660 | $59,800 | $29.16 | 83,060 |
| New Hampshire | $60,600 | $60,280 | $29.13 | 6,960 |
| Maryland | $60,590 | $59,360 | $29.13 | 29,150 |
| Kansas | $60,480 | $58,920 | $29.08 | 24,220 |
| Tennessee | $60,440 | $58,620 | $29.06 | 64,890 |
| Iowa | $60,070 | $58,070 | $28.88 | 35,040 |
| Nebraska | $60,070 | $58,390 | $28.88 | 23,160 |
| Kentucky | $59,870 | $56,340 | $28.78 | 31,760 |
| Rhode Island | $59,660 | $60,190 | $28.68 | 3,620 |
| Pennsylvania | $59,640 | $58,580 | $28.67 | 87,550 |
| Montana | $59,180 | $58,870 | $28.45 | 7,830 |
| Idaho | $59,160 | $58,770 | $28.44 | 15,920 |
| Wisconsin | $58,890 | $58,610 | $28.31 | 53,330 |
| Arizona | $58,870 | $58,080 | $28.30 | 40,150 |
| South Dakota | $58,550 | $58,690 | $28.15 | 6,470 |
| Texas | $57,990 | $56,290 | $27.88 | 209,680 |
| Georgia | $57,780 | $57,050 | $27.78 | 74,840 |
| Virginia | $57,770 | $56,860 | $27.78 | 48,750 |
| Oklahoma | $57,670 | $54,410 | $27.73 | 27,840 |
| Arkansas | $57,390 | $51,550 | $27.59 | 32,220 |
| Delaware | $57,380 | $57,590 | $27.59 | 9,040 |
| Missouri | $56,830 | $54,550 | $27.32 | 47,760 |
| Michigan | $56,370 | $57,180 | $27.10 | 60,800 |
| Alabama | $56,230 | $52,120 | $27.03 | 36,650 |
| Maine | $55,980 | $57,050 | $26.91 | 9,980 |
| Mississippi | $55,910 | $51,820 | $26.88 | 24,160 |
| North Carolina | $55,810 | $51,530 | $26.83 | 62,400 |
| South Carolina | $55,680 | $51,130 | $26.77 | 34,170 |
| Florida | $54,850 | $50,640 | $26.37 | 112,920 |
| New Mexico | $53,100 | $50,500 | $25.53 | 11,820 |
| West Virginia | $52,440 | $49,480 | $25.21 | 12,190 |
| Louisiana | $51,930 | $49,320 | $24.96 | 28,540 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 53-3032, via the BLS Public Data API, checked 2026-10. Wage and salary drivers only; self-employed owner-operators aren't included. Green: at or above the national mean.
Highest and lowest paying states
| Highest annual mean | Pay | Lowest annual mean | Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $69,520 | Louisiana | $51,930 |
| Washington | $68,230 | West Virginia | $52,440 |
| District of Columbia | $67,710 | New Mexico | $53,100 |
| New Jersey | $66,770 | Florida | $54,850 |
| New York | $65,780 | South Carolina | $55,680 |
The spread from top to bottom is about $17,600 a year. Most of it tracks the cost of living and the kind of freight a state moves, not how hard the work is.
The biggest trucking job markets are Texas (209,680 drivers), California (205,090), Florida (112,920), Pennsylvania (87,550) and Illinois (84,200). Texas and Florida both pay a little under the national mean, but the sheer number of jobs and freight lanes is why so many carriers base there.
How to read the numbers
- Mean vs median. The mean is pulled up by the highest earners; the median is the middle driver. Nationally they're close, $59,710 and $58,640, so pay is fairly evenly spread.
- Hourly mean is the annual mean divided over a full-time year. Truck drivers are often paid by the mile, the load or a percentage, not the hour, so treat it as a comparison number.
- Cost of living. A higher wage in a high-cost state doesn't always mean more money left at the end of the month.
- Specialty pay. The figures blend every kind of heavy truck work. Hazmat, tanker, oversize and team work often pay above the average; local work often pays less but brings drivers home.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 53-3032 · checked 2026-10
Company driver vs owner-operator pay
The BLS survey doesn't count self-employed owner-operators, and their income isn't a salary. An owner-operator's pay is what's left of the gross after fuel, truck and trailer payments, insurance, maintenance, tires, tolls, permits and any fees. Two owner-operators with the same gross can take home very different amounts.
That's why we don't publish an "owner-operator salary": there isn't an honest single number. What you can do is work out your own:
- Find your cost per mile with the trucking cost per mile calculator.
- Estimate realistic miles per week for your equipment and home time.
- Compare the rates you can get for your lanes, all-in, against that cost.
- What's left, times your weeks, is your pay before taxes. Owner-operators who sleep away from home may also deduct per diem.
If the answer beats your current salary by enough to cover the risk and the extra work, it's worth a closer look. Our startup guide covers the rest.
Methodology
Figures are the BLS May 2025 OEWS estimates for SOC 53-3032, pulled for every state, DC and the nation from the BLS Public Data API in October 2026: employment, hourly mean wage, annual mean wage and annual median wage. We haven't adjusted, rounded or modeled anything. BLS publishes these estimates once a year; we'll update the table when the next release is out.