The 10 Best States For Delivery Drivers In 2019

Delivery Drivers are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as delivery drivers in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.

Since delivery drivers are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where delivery drivers have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.

To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for delivery drivers.

After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s delivery drivers:

1. Illinois
2. Michigan
3. Kentucky
4. Wyoming
5. Kansas
6. Tennessee
7. Arizona
8. Texas
9. North Dakota
10. Georgia

So there you have it — Light Truck Or Delivery Services Drivers is the best of the best when it comes to being a delivery driver.

How did Light Truck Or Delivery Services Drivers end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for delivery drivers and for more on the top ten states.

If you’re interested, you can read more about the job scene here:

• Best Companies to Work For in Chicago, IL
• These Are The 20 Best Small Companies In Chicago To Work For
• These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Chicago

How we determined the best states to be a delivery driver

Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:

• Availability of jobs
• Higher Pay

So in order to find out the best states for delivery drivers in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well delivery drivers get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2018:

• Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
• Average annual salary.
• Average annual salary for entry level work.
• Average annual salary for experienced professionals.

To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.

Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for delivery drivers in California is $40,110 and the average salary in Illinois is $39,770, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.

In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.

We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for delivery drivers in America.

So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for delivery drivers.

1. Illinois

Total Jobs: 49,140
Average Annual Salary: $39,770
Average Entry Level Salary: $20,250
Average Experienced Salary: $65,140
Location Quotient: 1.3

2. Michigan

Total Jobs: 28,860
Average Annual Salary: $36,230
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,960
Average Experienced Salary: $61,940
Location Quotient: 1.06

3. Kentucky

Total Jobs: 15,680
Average Annual Salary: $35,990
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,680
Average Experienced Salary: $61,900
Location Quotient: 1.31

4. Wyoming

Total Jobs: 1,480
Average Annual Salary: $39,100
Average Entry Level Salary: $21,770
Average Experienced Salary: $62,500
Location Quotient: 0.87

5. Kansas

Total Jobs: 8,400
Average Annual Salary: $37,440
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,970
Average Experienced Salary: $64,290
Location Quotient: 0.97

6. Tennessee

Total Jobs: 18,250
Average Annual Salary: $36,640
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,810
Average Experienced Salary: $63,500
Location Quotient: 0.98

7. Arizona

Total Jobs: 15,300
Average Annual Salary: $39,150
Average Entry Level Salary: $23,080
Average Experienced Salary: $69,070
Location Quotient: 0.87

8. Texas

Total Jobs: 65,960
Average Annual Salary: $37,590
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,590
Average Experienced Salary: $66,560
Location Quotient: 0.86

9. North Dakota

Total Jobs: 2,060
Average Annual Salary: $41,900
Average Entry Level Salary: $23,670
Average Experienced Salary: $67,280
Location Quotient: 0.78

10. Georgia

Total Jobs: 27,890
Average Annual Salary: $36,700
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,110
Average Experienced Salary: $62,130
Location Quotient: 1.0

There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Delivery Driver

If you’re looking to start out your career as a delivery driver these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.

If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be a delivery driver in America:

1. New York
2. Hawaii
3. California

For more reading, check out:

• These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Illinois
• These Are The 100 Largest Companies In Illinois

Detailed List Of The Best States For delivery drivers

Rank	State	Average Salary	Entry Level Salary	# Of People
1	Illinois	$39,770	$20,250	49,140
2	Michigan	$36,230	$19,960	28,860
3	Kentucky	$35,990	$18,680	15,680
4	Wyoming	$39,100	$21,770	1,480
5	Kansas	$37,440	$18,970	8,400
6	Tennessee	$36,640	$18,810	18,250
7	Arizona	$39,150	$23,080	15,300
8	Texas	$37,590	$19,590	65,960
9	North Dakota	$41,900	$23,670	2,060
10	Georgia	$36,700	$19,110	27,890
11	Idaho	$34,630	$19,770	4,520
12	Colorado	$38,970	$22,390	17,610
13	Mississippi	$31,970	$17,970	7,990
14	Minnesota	$40,440	$23,090	16,070
15	Missouri	$35,070	$19,110	16,840
16	Washington	$41,160	$25,150	17,740
17	Arkansas	$32,220	$19,250	7,080
18	Nebraska	$35,760	$20,510	4,610
19	Indiana	$33,930	$18,250	18,820
20	Ohio	$33,960	$18,960	39,310
21	West Virginia	$32,380	$19,500	5,130
22	Oklahoma	$34,270	$19,600	8,730
23	Utah	$35,810	$21,280	8,190
24	North Carolina	$33,850	$19,400	27,370
25	Florida	$35,370	$19,570	55,230
26	Louisiana	$32,930	$17,750	15,950
27	Montana	$34,930	$20,250	3,690
28	New Mexico	$35,130	$20,640	4,660
29	Iowa	$33,150	$18,600	9,580
30	Alabama	$30,910	$17,720	14,650
31	Nevada	$38,090	$21,900	6,680
32	Delaware	$35,710	$20,180	2,620
33	South Dakota	$34,000	$20,570	3,130
34	Virginia	$35,530	$18,200	21,470
35	Alaska	$44,750	$28,140	1,840
36	Pennsylvania	$34,110	$17,740	37,140
37	South Carolina	$32,400	$18,070	13,570
38	New Jersey	$38,220	$19,480	32,310
39	Vermont	$36,880	$22,580	2,190
40	Rhode Island	$36,170	$22,260	4,080
41	Maryland	$39,210	$21,480	21,180
42	Oregon	$37,730	$23,970	10,940
43	Wisconsin	$33,700	$18,600	15,360
44	Maine	$33,850	$21,070	4,310
45	Massachusetts	$40,960	$24,260	22,800
46	Connecticut	$37,990	$23,270	11,580
47	New Hampshire	$35,210	$18,510	4,030
48	California	$40,110	$23,760	111,100
49	Hawaii	$37,610	$23,140	4,830
50	New York	$38,160	$22,090	46,030