PAY BY JOB

Truck driver pay, for employers

What truck drivers earn, from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) medians, what one costs to employ, how the job is paid and whether overtime is owed.

Wages: BLS medians for May 2025. Pay and overtime rules checked on October 6, 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page. For employers. General information, not legal or tax advice: federal rules only, and a state's law can require more.

Truck driver pay at a glance

Median a year: $58,640
Median an hour: $28.19
BLS period: May 2025
Federal overtime: Exempt, on conditions

What truck drivers earn

National median: $58,640 a year, $28.19 an hour (May 2025)BLS occupation: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (SOC 53-3032).Source: BLS OEWS May 2025, national, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, all industries: annual median, series OEUN000000000000053303213 (BLS data API, JSON) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; BLS OEWS May 2025, national, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, all industries: hourly median, series OEUN000000000000053303208 (BLS data API, JSON) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
What the median covers: BLS medians include base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips.They leave out overtime pay; severance pay; shift differentials; nonproduction bonuses; employer cost for supplementary benefits; and tuition reimbursements.The annual figure is the hourly median times 2,080 hours.Source: BLS, May 2025 OEWS Estimates: technical notes (opens in a new tab), read from an archived copy dated August 30, 2026 (opens in a new tab)

Median pay by state

BLS medians for truck drivers in each state and DC, May 2025.

State	Median a year	Median an hour
Alabama	$52,120	$25.06
Alaska	$70,100	$33.70
Arizona	$58,080	$27.92
Arkansas	$51,550	$24.79
California	$60,230	$28.96
Colorado	$61,500	$29.57
Connecticut	$60,490	$29.08
Delaware	$57,590	$27.69
District of Columbia	$64,170	$30.85
Florida	$50,640	$24.34
Georgia	$57,050	$27.43
Hawaii	$59,820	$28.76
Idaho	$58,770	$28.26
Illinois	$60,320	$29.00
Indiana	$60,290	$28.99
Iowa	$58,070	$27.92
Kansas	$58,920	$28.33
Kentucky	$56,340	$27.09
Louisiana	$49,320	$23.71
Maine	$57,050	$27.43
Maryland	$59,360	$28.54
Massachusetts	$63,030	$30.30
Michigan	$57,180	$27.49
Minnesota	$61,990	$29.80
Mississippi	$51,820	$24.92
Missouri	$54,550	$26.23
Montana	$58,870	$28.30
Nebraska	$58,390	$28.07
Nevada	$62,290	$29.95
New Hampshire	$60,280	$28.98
New Jersey	$63,570	$30.56
New Mexico	$50,500	$24.28
New York	$62,050	$29.83
North Carolina	$51,530	$24.77
North Dakota	$60,910	$29.29
Ohio	$59,800	$28.75
Oklahoma	$54,410	$26.16
Oregon	$61,980	$29.80
Pennsylvania	$58,580	$28.16
Rhode Island	$60,190	$28.94
South Carolina	$51,130	$24.58
South Dakota	$58,690	$28.21
Tennessee	$58,620	$28.18
Texas	$56,290	$27.06
Utah	$60,620	$29.15
Vermont	$60,830	$29.25
Virginia	$56,860	$27.34
Washington	$64,760	$31.13
West Virginia	$49,480	$23.79
Wisconsin	$58,610	$28.18
Wyoming	$60,310	$28.99

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates (oesm25st.zip) (opens in a new tab), read from an archived copy dated October 4, 2026 (opens in a new tab)

What one costs to employ

The national median as the year's gross wages, plus your Social Security, Medicare and FUTA. Enter your state unemployment rate and wage base, workers' comp rate, benefits and overhead for your own figure.

WORKED EXAMPLE

One year: a truck driver at the national median, $58,640 (BLS, May 2025)

26 U.S.C. §§3111, 3301

Gross wagesFor the year, all subject to FICA and FUTA

Social Security, employer share6.2% of wages up to $184,500 (2026)

$3,635.68

Medicare, employer share1.45% of all wages

$850.28

FUTA0.6% of the first $7,000, with the full 5.4% credit

$42.00

State unemploymentYour assigned rate, on your state’s wage base

%on$

Workers’ compensationYour insurer’s rate per $100 of payroll

BenefitsYour share of premiums and retirement contributions

OverheadEquipment, training, and other costs you assign

Wages: $58,640.00Employer taxes and comp: $4,527.96Benefits and overhead: $0.00

Cost of the employee$63,167.96For the year

On top of wages$4,527.96

Multiple of wages1.08×

Adding the employee’s withheld FICA would count $4,485.96 twiceThe employee’s share comes out of the wages you already counted; only your matching share adds cost.

$4,485.96counted twice

Employer cost of one employee for calendar year 2026: 6.2% Social Security on wages up to $184,500 (2026), 1.45% Medicare, and FUTA at 0.6% of the first $7,000 a year with the full 5.4% credit, plus the state unemployment, workers’ compensation, benefits, and overhead you enter, with all wages subject to FICA and FUTA. It leaves out credit reduction states, pay that FICA or FUTA excludes, such as your health plan contributions, and how the cost spreads across pay periods. Other cases and state law can change the result.

State unemployment rates and wage bases: Payroll tax rates by state

How truck drivers are paid

Each way of paying the job, with the federal rule for its regular rate and overtime. Where the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook says how the job is paid, its words are quoted.

Per mile: Paid by the mile. Where the Motor Carrier Act exemption applies, no overtime is owed, but the exemption lifts only the overtime section of the FLSA, so pay must still meet the federal minimum wage. Where overtime is owed, the regular rate is the week's mileage and other pay divided by the hours worked, and each hour over 40 earns half that rate on top, as for piece rates.BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: “Drivers of heavy trucks and tractor-trailers usually are paid by how many miles they have driven, plus bonuses.”Source: 29 U.S.C. 213 (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; 29 CFR 778.109 (opens in a new tab); 29 CFR 778.111 (opens in a new tab); BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Pay (opens in a new tab), read from an archived copy dated January 1, 2026 (opens in a new tab)

Overtime

Exempt, on conditions: Exempt from overtime, not from the minimum wage, under the Motor Carrier Act exemption: a driver for a motor carrier or private motor carrier whose work affects the safety of vehicles over 10,000 pounds in interstate commerce. A driver of vehicles of 10,000 pounds or less, or one whose work never touches interstate commerce, is owed time and a half after 40 hours.Federal rule only: a state's overtime law can require more.Source: 29 U.S.C. 213 (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; Pub. L. 110-244, sec. 306 (small vehicle exception), in the notes to 29 U.S.C. 207 (opens in a new tab); 29 CFR 782.2 (opens in a new tab)

Industry and workers' comp

HCM industry: Logistics: Fleets and warehouses
Workers' comp class codes: Class codes that commonly cover truck drivers, on Worklio Insurance. The class depends on your business and the manual filed in your state.7219 Trucking7380 Commercial driversAll class codes on Worklio Insurance

WORKLIO HCM

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Payroll, tax, HR, time, and benefits administration run on one 50-state engine, for companies with 50 to 50,000+ employees. Approve once: hours flow in from time tracking, deductions from benefits, and every pay run posts taxes, filings, comp premiums and the general ledger automatically. For logistics: driver withholding by work location across states, and piece and mileage pay supported alongside hourly.

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Other jobs

Delivery driver$44,860 a year
Forklift operator$46,420 a year
Warehouse worker$40,240 a year
All 41 jobs

Sources

The data series, regulation or document behind each figure and rule, as checked.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the relevant agency or your advisor. You remain responsible for how you classify and pay each employee.

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