How to hire a route driver

How to hire a route driver, step by step

Here's a step-by-step route driver hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a route driver job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new route driver
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a route driver do?

Post a route driver job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a route driver, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A route driver's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, route drivers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of route drivers.

   Type of Route Driver	Description	Hourly rate
   Route Driver	Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers pick up, transport, and drop off packages and small shipments within a local region or urban area. They drive trucks with a gross vehicle weight (GVW)—the combined weight of the vehicle, passengers, and cargo—of 26,000 pounds or less... Show more	$14-32
   Delivery Driver/Warehouse	A warehouse delivery driver is responsible for transporting goods and services from the warehouse to different assigned locations. Warehouse delivery drivers record the inventory materials receipt before and after delivery to ensure the merchandise's correct quantity and quality... Show more	$12-19
   Customer Service And Driver	A customer service and driver is responsible for providing transport or technical assistance to customers. Their job usually focuses on answering calls or correspondence from clients to identify their needs, responding to inquiries, explaining service and product specifications, discussing price details, troubleshooting issues, providing clear instructions, or referring other services when necessary... Show more	$13-21

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • CDL
   • DOT
   • Pickup
   • Customer Locations
   • Cleanliness
   • Necessary Paperwork
   • Tractor Trailer
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Customer Service
   • Customer Complaints
   • Post-Trip Inspections
   • Routine Maintenance
   • Hazmat
   • Taking Care

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage 100 stores as a DSD vendor, entailing presales, delivery and basic account management.
   • Inspect vehicle and load for safety and HazMat regulations being meet.
   • DOT, local, state (provincial) and federal requirements.
   • Train new employees to read and follow route sheets, as well as prepare them for CDL testing.
   • Travel to and from designate areas to pickup and deliver parcels and packages to and from FedEx customers.
   • Record routes in the delivery vehicle GPS system to facilitate weekly route planning and to assist share route drivers.

   More route driver duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your route driver job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A route driver can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, route drivers' average salary in mississippi is 44% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level route drivers 55% less than senior-level route drivers.
   • Certifications. A route driver with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a route driver's salary.

   Average route driver salary

   $45,492yearly

   $21.87 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level route driver salary

   $30,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 23, 2025

   Average route driver salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$58,209	$28
   2	California	$57,267	$28
   3	Maine	$57,209	$28
   4	New York	$56,559	$27
   5	Connecticut	$55,267	$27
   6	Oregon	$54,983	$26
   7	Washington	$54,243	$26
   8	Michigan	$52,112	$25
   9	New Jersey	$51,971	$25
   10	Pennsylvania	$50,896	$24
   11	Iowa	$50,720	$24
   12	Maryland	$49,518	$24
   13	Texas	$48,798	$23
   14	Florida	$47,504	$23
   15	Illinois	$47,110	$23
   16	Indiana	$47,076	$23
   17	Minnesota	$44,945	$22
   18	Wisconsin	$43,884	$21
   19	Oklahoma	$43,830	$21
   20	Georgia	$43,548	$21

   Average route driver salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Blank Rome	$66,750	$32.09
   2	BASi	$61,523	$29.58
   3	East Penn Manufacturing	$58,282	$28.02
   4	Gordon Food Service	$57,524	$27.66	81
   5	US Foods	$56,720	$27.27	88
   6	Culligan	$56,330	$27.08	6
   7	Style Crest	$54,481	$26.19	9
   8	Clean Harbors	$54,261	$26.09	174
   9	Airgas	$53,926	$25.93	1
   10	Ilitch Holdings	$53,873	$25.90
   11	Arrow Electronics	$53,770	$25.85
   12	UPS	$53,369	$25.66	14
   13	Kemps	$53,257	$25.60
   14	Polaris	$53,176	$25.57
   15	Dairy Farmers of America	$53,035	$25.50	38
   16	Safety-Kleen	$52,969	$25.47	32
   17	Reyes Holdings	$52,773	$25.37	21
   18	Greater Omaha	$52,733	$25.35
   19	United Service Technologies	$52,508	$25.24
   20	Oldcastle Infrastructure	$52,287	$25.14	66

4. Writing a route driver job description

   A job description for a route driver role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a route driver job description:

   Route driver job description example

   • $17.50 per hour starting rate
   • Full Benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance for qualified candidates)
   • Paid Training, Holidays and Vacation
   • Sundays off
   • Company provides personal protection equipment (PPE) as the safety and well-being of our employees and the passengers we serve remains our #1 priority!
   • Career Advancement and opportunity to grow

   Qualifications:

   Driver Minimum Requirements:

   • Must be able to pass a pre-employment drug screen and DOT physical.
   • Must have a CDL with Passenger Endorsement.
   • Possess excellent communication and decision-making skills.

   We can put you on the road to a great career helping others!

   During the course of employment, employees may receive and have access to confidential information. All employees are expected to respect and maintain the confidentiality of non-public customer and business records and any other information that MV classifies as confidential.

   MV Transportation is committed to its policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, sex, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, genetic information or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. The information collected by this application is solely to determine suitability for employment, verify identity and maintain employment statistics on applicants.

   Where permissible under applicable state and local law, applicants may be subject to a pre-employment drug test and background check after receiving a conditional offer of employment.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find route drivers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your route driver job on Zippia to find and recruit route driver candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with route driver candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new route driver

   Once you've decided on a perfect route driver candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a route driver?