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The differences between route drivers and class a drivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a class a driver has an average salary of $56,620, which is higher than the $45,492 average annual salary of a route driver.
The top three skills for a route driver include CDL, DOT and pickup. The most important skills for a class a driver are CDL, customer service, and OTR.
| Route Driver | Class A Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $45,492 | $56,620 |
| Hourly rate | $21.87 | $27.22 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 266,899 | 706,950 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 47% | High School Diploma, 44% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
A Route Driver is responsible for delivering and transporting supplies or goods within an allotted time. The tasks will vary upon the organization or industry that a Route Driver works for, however, most of the time, the duties will revolve around picking up and dropping off packages at particular destinations ranging from homes to establishments, and communicating with customers. Furthermore, Route Drivers must keep their vehicles in clean and sound condition, report to supervisors should there be any issue, and adhere to the company policies and regulations at all times.
A Class A driver is an individual driver who has acquired a commercial driver's license (CDL) to operate trucks or commercial vehicles to transport materials and heavy equipment. Class A drivers are required to plan over-the-road (OTR) travel by using GPS and ensure that they follow bulk cargo transportation laws, regulations, and guidelines. They must conduct proper maintenance of the company vehicles and provide accurate daily logs to stay in compliance with the company's regulations. Class A drivers should also know how to operate equipment such as citizen band (CB) radios and telephones.
Route drivers and class a drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Route Driver | Class A Driver | |
| Average salary | $45,492 | $56,620 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $67,000 | Between $39,000 And $80,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Philadelphia, PA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Vermont |
| Best paying company | Blank Rome | Mid-South Management |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a route driver and a class a driver in terms of educational background:
| Route Driver | Class A Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 47% | High School Diploma, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between route drivers' and class a drivers' demographics:
| Route Driver | Class A Driver | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4% | Male, 94.8% Female, 5.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 3.8% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.7% Asian, 3.7% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |