These Are The 10 Best States For Delivery Drivers

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. Michigan
2. Tennessee
3. Kentucky
4. Mississippi
5. Illinois
6. North Dakota
7. Oklahoma
8. Kansas
9. Wyoming
10. Missouri

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:

• These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Detroit
• These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Warren
• These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Michigan

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 2016:

• 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 $37,880 and the average salary in Illinois is $34,910, 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. Michigan

Total Jobs: 27,620
Average Annual Salary: $35,110
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,040
Average Experienced Salary: $61,430
Location Quotient: 1.07

2. Tennessee

Total Jobs: 18,810
Average Annual Salary: $34,450
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,520
Average Experienced Salary: $62,250
Location Quotient: 1.06

3. Kentucky

Total Jobs: 12,460
Average Annual Salary: $34,370
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,300
Average Experienced Salary: $61,440
Location Quotient: 1.09

4. Mississippi

Total Jobs: 7,130
Average Annual Salary: $31,890
Average Entry Level Salary: $17,260
Average Experienced Salary: $60,680
Location Quotient: 1.04

5. Illinois

Total Jobs: 45,750
Average Annual Salary: $34,910
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,910
Average Experienced Salary: $60,180
Location Quotient: 1.27

6. North Dakota

Total Jobs: 2,720
Average Annual Salary: $37,900
Average Entry Level Salary: $21,070
Average Experienced Salary: $59,470
Location Quotient: 1.05

7. Oklahoma

Total Jobs: 8,880
Average Annual Salary: $35,120
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,180
Average Experienced Salary: $60,350
Location Quotient: 0.92

8. Kansas

Total Jobs: 8,340
Average Annual Salary: $34,170
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,150
Average Experienced Salary: $61,360
Location Quotient: 0.99

9. Wyoming

Total Jobs: 1,510
Average Annual Salary: $36,940
Average Entry Level Salary: $21,040
Average Experienced Salary: $59,620
Location Quotient: 0.9

10. Missouri

Total Jobs: 15,380
Average Annual Salary: $35,050
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,780
Average Experienced Salary: $62,520
Location Quotient: 0.91

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. Massachusetts
3. Oregon

For more reading, check out:

• These Are The 100 Largest Companies In Michigan

Detailed List Of The Best States For delivery drivers

Rank	State	Average Salary	Entry Level Salary	# Of People
1	Michigan	$35,110	$19,040	27,620
2	Tennessee	$34,450	$18,520	18,810
3	Kentucky	$34,370	$18,300	12,460
4	Mississippi	$31,890	$17,260	7,130
5	Illinois	$34,910	$18,910	45,750
6	North Dakota	$37,900	$21,070	2,720
7	Oklahoma	$35,120	$19,180	8,880
8	Kansas	$34,170	$18,150	8,340
9	Wyoming	$36,940	$21,040	1,510
10	Missouri	$35,050	$18,780	15,380
11	Georgia	$34,710	$18,140	26,120
12	Washington	$39,210	$22,940	18,110
13	Arizona	$37,070	$20,070	14,620
14	Ohio	$33,490	$18,650	35,060
15	West Virginia	$31,230	$18,810	4,830
16	Colorado	$37,240	$20,520	16,950
17	Indiana	$33,010	$18,060	17,110
18	Nebraska	$33,800	$19,450	4,770
19	Utah	$32,940	$18,660	8,380
20	Iowa	$32,970	$18,260	9,280
21	Minnesota	$37,350	$20,260	14,750
22	Louisiana	$31,960	$17,770	14,480
23	Arkansas	$30,400	$17,960	6,330
24	Florida	$33,560	$19,350	50,660
25	Texas	$32,170	$18,070	65,930
26	Idaho	$32,810	$17,770	3,200
27	Montana	$32,940	$19,120	3,350
28	New Mexico	$33,050	$19,000	4,620
29	North Carolina	$31,740	$17,920	25,120
30	Nevada	$35,660	$19,700	7,310
31	South Carolina	$31,160	$17,320	13,390
32	Rhode Island	$35,510	$20,090	3,750
33	Virginia	$33,030	$17,270	21,150
34	Alabama	$29,600	$17,220	11,600
35	Pennsylvania	$33,200	$17,630	34,600
36	Maryland	$37,560	$19,750	21,780
37	New Jersey	$37,100	$19,680	26,810
38	Wisconsin	$31,940	$17,850	16,350
39	Vermont	$35,630	$20,480	2,130
40	Delaware	$33,910	$19,350	2,300
41	Alaska	$43,070	$25,700	1,760
42	Maine	$31,630	$18,860	4,450
43	South Dakota	$31,430	$19,330	2,590
44	New Hampshire	$31,660	$17,580	4,520
45	Connecticut	$37,150	$21,110	10,530
46	California	$37,880	$21,420	99,890
47	Hawaii	$35,190	$21,170	4,680
48	Oregon	$35,950	$21,540	9,120
49	Massachusetts	$37,320	$20,820	22,200
50	New York	$36,820	$19,750	43,860