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Job outlook for route drivers in the United States
Route driver job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected route driver job growth rate is 11% from 2018-2028.
About 174,200 new jobs for route drivers are projected over the next decade.
Route driver salaries have increased 22% for route drivers in the last 5 years.
There are over 1,215,776 route drivers currently employed in the United States.
There are 266,899 active route driver job openings in the US.
The average route driver salary is $45,492.
Are route driver jobs in demand?
Route Driver job and salary trends over time
Route Driver jobs over time
Route Driver job growth rate over time
| Year | # Of Jobs | % Of Population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,215,776 | 0.36% |
| 2020 | 1,102,452 | 0.33% |
| 2019 | 1,119,126 | 0.33% |
| 2018 | 1,086,041 | 0.33% |
| 2017 | 1,067,779 | 0.32% |
Average route driver salary over time
Route Driver salary by year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $45,492 | $21.87 | +8.1% |
| 2024 | $42,075 | $20.23 | +4.7% |
| 2023 | $40,188 | $19.32 | +2.7% |
| 2022 | $39,114 | $18.80 | +5.3% |
| 2021 | $37,145 | $17.86 | +1.7% |
Route Driver jobs by state
Most common states for route drivers
| Rank | State | Population | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 3,158 | 174% |
| 2 | Delaware | 961,939 | 1,396 | 145% |
| 3 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 9,157 | 137% |
| 4 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 3,960 | 126% |
| 5 | Kentucky | 4,454,189 | 5,510 | 124% |
| 6 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 3,362 | 115% |
| 7 | Ohio | 11,658,609 | 12,351 | 106% |
| 8 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 5,088 | 104% |
| 9 | Mississippi | 2,984,100 | 3,071 | 103% |
| 10 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 589 | 102% |
| 11 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 12,599 | 98% |
| 12 | South Carolina | 5,024,369 | 4,861 | 97% |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 5,423 | 94% |
| 14 | Vermont | 623,657 | 575 | 92% |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 11,695 | 91% |
| 16 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 7,715 | 91% |
| 17 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 5,581 | 91% |
| 18 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 4,879 | 87% |
| 19 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 1,802 | 86% |
| 20 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 5,101 | 84% |
Most common cities for route drivers
| Rank | City | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fort Myers | 6 | 8% | $47,706 |
| 2 | Springdale | 6 | 8% | $39,963 |
| 3 | Saint Cloud | 5 | 7% | $44,945 |
| 4 | Hayward | 9 | 6% | $57,092 |
| 5 | Little Rock | 7 | 4% | $40,118 |
| 6 | Indianapolis | 22 | 3% | $47,076 |
| 7 | Orlando | 7 | 3% | $47,212 |
| 8 | Denver | 16 | 2% | $40,266 |
| 9 | Tampa | 7 | 2% | $47,504 |
| 10 | Saint Louis | 5 | 2% | $40,366 |
| 11 | Phoenix | 12 | 1% | $42,519 |
| 12 | San Antonio | 9 | 1% | $48,798 |
| 13 | Austin | 7 | 1% | $48,336 |
| 14 | Jacksonville | 5 | 1% | $46,505 |
| 15 | Minneapolis | 5 | 1% | $44,945 |
| 16 | Baltimore | 4 | 1% | $49,518 |
| 17 | San Diego | 7 | 0% | $53,800 |
Route Driver job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of route driver experts
CVTA
NAPFTDS
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Route Driver job market given the pandemic?
Don Lefeve: The market for commercial drivers should remain strong for the foreseeable future due to older driver retirements, tight capacity, and the increase of home delivery of goods resulting from COVID. COVID has resulted in fewer commercial drivers being produced in 2020, compared to 2019. It is important to note that Class A Commercial Driver's License is as much of a requirement to drive large commercial trucks as it is an excellent safety credential for those who may not drive commercial trucks.
The biggest trend currently is tight capacity. What this means is there are too few drivers willing to move goods at the requested price. This means shippers need to pay more to move goods, which in turn, results in trucking companies charging more and driver pay rises. Pay has been rising, and commercial driving is a solid foundation for a career in trucking.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Route Drivers to find work opportunities?
Martin Garsee: Many over the road trucking companies will hire you from any location in the 48 contiguous states. Companies that have more set routes in a region of the country, will only hire in that region. Most companies, on their website, have a hiring area located. Where there is a dense population, there are more jobs available. Where there is a port, there are jobs that have to get the goods from the port to a warehouse for distribution, which may be local or hundreds of miles away. Where there is a concentration of manufacturing, raw material has to be brought in and completed products have to be shipped to their final destination.
In large cities there are a lot of delivery jobs to retail outlets.
How do you envision technology impacting Route Drivers in the next 5 years?
Martin Garsee: Technology has changed every aspect of the industry in the last few years. Many of the systems that are on trucks make them much safer.
Collision mitigation systems, Blind spot alerts, cameras inside and outside the cab, lane departure warnings, these are currently offered on the truck of today. We see these systems getting better, which makes the driver a safer driver.