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Job outlook for warehouse/drivers in the United States
Warehouse/driver job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected warehouse/driver job growth rate is 11% from 2018-2028.
About 174,200 new jobs for warehouse/drivers are projected over the next decade.
Warehouse/driver salaries have increased 21% for warehouse/drivers in the last 5 years.
There are over 1,331,648 warehouse/drivers currently employed in the United States.
There are 293,591 active warehouse/driver job openings in the US.
The average warehouse/driver salary is $34,000.
Are warehouse/driver jobs in demand?
Warehouse/driver job and salary trends over time
Warehouse/driver jobs over time
Warehouse/driver job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,331,648 | 0.40% |
| 2020 | 991,740 | 0.30% |
| 2019 | 1,199,591 | 0.36% |
| 2018 | 1,025,135 | 0.31% |
| 2017 | 994,482 | 0.30% |
Average warehouse/driver salary over time
Warehouse/driver salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $34,000 | $16.35 | +6.7% |
| 2025 | $31,871 | $15.32 | +5.9% |
| 2024 | $30,109 | $14.48 | +4.3% |
| 2023 | $28,861 | $13.88 | +2.8% |
| 2022 | $28,063 | $13.49 | +2.4% |
Warehouse/driver jobs by state
Most common states for warehouse/drivers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio | 11,658,609 | 8,605 | 74% |
| 2 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 4,818 | 72% |
| 3 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 8,431 | 66% |
| 4 | South Carolina | 5,024,369 | 3,289 | 65% |
| 5 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 3,456 | 60% |
| 6 | Tennessee | 6,715,984 | 3,955 | 59% |
| 7 | Kentucky | 4,454,189 | 2,588 | 58% |
| 8 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 1,840 | 58% |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 7,248 | 57% |
| 10 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 3,062 | 51% |
| 11 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 1,490 | 51% |
| 12 | Delaware | 961,939 | 492 | 51% |
| 13 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 882 | 49% |
| 14 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 2,650 | 48% |
| 15 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 508 | 48% |
| 16 | Mississippi | 2,984,100 | 1,395 | 47% |
| 17 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 4,689 | 46% |
| 18 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 2,148 | 44% |
| 19 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 589 | 44% |
| 20 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 385 | 44% |
Most common cities for warehouse/drivers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Twin Falls | 4 | 8% | $32,180 |
| 2 | Grand Rapids | 5 | 3% | $33,018 |
| 3 | Orlando | 6 | 2% | $25,821 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | 5 | 2% | $30,009 |
| 5 | Fontana | 5 | 2% | $36,710 |
| 6 | Richmond | 4 | 2% | $30,421 |
| 7 | Jacksonville | 6 | 1% | $26,267 |
| 8 | Portland | 6 | 1% | $39,350 |
| 9 | Tampa | 5 | 1% | $25,845 |
| 10 | Kansas City | 4 | 1% | $33,099 |
| 11 | Saint Paul | 4 | 1% | $38,207 |
| 12 | Tulsa | 4 | 1% | $31,132 |
| 13 | Atlanta | 3 | 1% | $29,247 |
| 14 | Baton Rouge | 3 | 1% | $26,538 |
| 15 | Los Angeles | 8 | 0% | $36,912 |
| 16 | Phoenix | 8 | 0% | $34,151 |
| 17 | Houston | 6 | 0% | $29,634 |
| 18 | Dallas | 4 | 0% | $30,238 |
| 19 | Indianapolis | 4 | 0% | $30,560 |
Warehouse/Driver job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of warehouse/driver experts
CVTA
NAPFTDS
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Warehouse/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 Warehouse/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 Warehouse/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.