Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of truck driver salary by state for the United States:
-
Delaware has the highest truck driver salary of $70,901
-
Hawaii has the lowest truck driver salary of $44,475
-
The national average salary for truck drivers is $60,326
-
The national hourly pay for truck drivers is $29.0
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do truck drivers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for truck driver by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for truck drivers after this adjustment? That would be Delaware.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for truck driver salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Truck Drivers By State
| Rank | State | Average Truck Driver Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delaware | $70,901 | $47,000 | $106,000 |
| 2 | Rhode Island | $70,834 | $47,000 | $105,000 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $70,082 | $46,000 | $104,000 |
| 4 | New Jersey | $70,043 | $46,000 | $104,000 |
| 5 | New York | $69,847 | $46,000 | $104,000 |
| 6 | Vermont | $69,340 | $46,000 | $103,000 |
| 7 | New Hampshire | $69,288 | $46,000 | $103,000 |
| 8 | Nevada | $69,012 | $43,000 | $108,000 |
| 9 | Kentucky | $68,557 | $46,000 | $101,000 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | $68,232 | $45,000 | $101,000 |
| 11 | Maryland | $67,819 | $45,000 | $101,000 |
| 12 | Indiana | $67,338 | $45,000 | $98,000 |
| 13 | Oklahoma | $67,261 | $45,000 | $99,000 |
| 14 | Georgia | $66,979 | $44,000 | $100,000 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | $66,857 | $45,000 | $97,000 |
| 16 | Mississippi | $66,365 | $44,000 | $99,000 |
| 17 | Minnesota | $65,995 | $45,000 | $96,000 |
| 18 | Arkansas | $65,794 | $44,000 | $97,000 |
| 19 | Ohio | $65,665 | $44,000 | $96,000 |
| 20 | Missouri | $65,648 | $44,000 | $96,000 |
| 21 | North Dakota | $65,342 | $44,000 | $94,000 |
| 22 | Wyoming | $65,149 | $43,000 | $96,000 |
| 23 | Massachusetts | $65,144 | $43,000 | $97,000 |
| 24 | North Carolina | $65,096 | $43,000 | $97,000 |
| 25 | Kansas | $64,531 | $43,000 | $94,000 |
| 26 | Virginia | $64,083 | $42,000 | $95,000 |
| 27 | South Carolina | $63,692 | $42,000 | $95,000 |
| 28 | Iowa | $63,473 | $43,000 | $92,000 |
| 29 | Alabama | $63,414 | $42,000 | $94,000 |
| 30 | Michigan | $63,047 | $42,000 | $92,000 |
| 31 | Maine | $62,971 | $42,000 | $94,000 |
| 32 | South Dakota | $62,449 | $42,000 | $91,000 |
| 33 | California | $62,190 | $39,000 | $99,000 |
| 34 | Illinois | $61,732 | $42,000 | $90,000 |
| 35 | West Virginia | $61,668 | $41,000 | $91,000 |
| 36 | New Mexico | $61,479 | $40,000 | $92,000 |
| 37 | Washington | $61,194 | $38,000 | $96,000 |
| 38 | Tennessee | $60,653 | $40,000 | $89,000 |
| 39 | Utah | $60,538 | $39,000 | $92,000 |
| 40 | Arizona | $60,400 | $39,000 | $93,000 |
| 41 | Louisiana | $58,551 | $39,000 | $87,000 |
| 42 | Colorado | $58,278 | $39,000 | $86,000 |
| 43 | Montana | $56,810 | $37,000 | $85,000 |
| 44 | Florida | $56,563 | $37,000 | $84,000 |
| 45 | Nebraska | $54,316 | $37,000 | $79,000 |
| 46 | Oregon | $53,050 | $33,000 | $84,000 |
| 47 | Texas | $50,414 | $33,000 | $75,000 |
| 48 | Idaho | $47,833 | $30,000 | $74,000 |
| 49 | Alaska | $47,735 | $38,000 | $59,000 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $44,475 | $33,000 | $59,000 |
Methodology: Truck Driver Salary By State
To better understand truck driver pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for truck drivers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for truck drivers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for truck drivers.
Truck Driver Salary By State FAQs
-
What is the highest-paid state for truck drivers?
The highest-paid state for truck drivers is Delaware with an average salary of $70,901 per year.
-
What city pays truck drivers the most?
Wilmington, DE pays truck drivers the most with an average salary of $70,911 per year.
-
What is the worst state for truck drivers?
The worst state for truck drivers is Hawaii with an average salary of $44,475 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
