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The differences between truck driver-over the roads and route drivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a truck driver-over-the-road has an average salary of $69,158, which is higher than the $45,492 average annual salary of a route driver.
The top three skills for a truck driver-over-the-road include CDL, OTR and PET. The most important skills for a route driver are CDL, DOT, and pickup.
| Truck Driver-Over-The-Road | Route Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $69,158 | $45,492 |
| Hourly rate | $33.25 | $21.87 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 689,630 | 266,899 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 40% | High School Diploma, 47% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
A truck driver-over-the-road (OTR) is an individual driver who specializes in hauling items such as heavy freight, machinery, or construction materials from a home terminal to delivery points. OTR truck drivers usually spend more time on the road due to the long distances they are required to reach. To avoid vehicular breakdowns and delays, OTR drivers are required to inspect their trucks and review shipping and transport documents. They are also responsible for unloading freights and collect charges from customers.
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.
Truck driver-over the roads and route drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Truck Driver-Over-The-Road | Route Driver | |
| Average salary | $69,158 | $45,492 |
| Salary range | Between $50,000 And $95,000 | Between $30,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | Des Moines, WA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Walmart | Blank Rome |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a truck driver-over-the-road and a route driver in terms of educational background:
| Truck Driver-Over-The-Road | Route Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 40% | High School Diploma, 47% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between truck driver-over the roads' and route drivers' demographics:
| Truck Driver-Over-The-Road | Route Driver | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.1% Female, 11.9% | Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 3.9% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |