Transportation · Rankings

Best US Cities for Truck Drivers

Top US cities for Truck Drivers ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.

Top 10 cities by salary

#	City	Estimated salary	Cost mult.	vs national
1	Oakland, CA	$74,600	1.35×	+$20,600
2	San Francisco, CA	$71,000	1.45×	+$17,000
3	Long Beach, CA	$67,500	1.18×	+$13,500
4	New York City, NY	$66,100	1.32×	+$12,100
5	Los Angeles, CA	$66,000	1.22×	+$12,000
6	Honolulu, HI	$65,300	1.30×	+$11,300
7	Irvine, CA	$65,300	1.30×	+$11,300
8	Anchorage, AK	$65,300	1.20×	+$11,300
9	Seattle, WA	$64,400	1.18×	+$10,400
10	Anaheim, CA	$64,400	1.18×	+$10,400

All 50 cities, ranked

#	City	Salary	Hourly
1	Oakland, CA	$74,600	$36/hr
2	San Francisco, CA	$71,000	$34/hr
3	Long Beach, CA	$67,500	$32/hr
4	New York City, NY	$66,100	$32/hr
5	Los Angeles, CA	$66,000	$32/hr
6	Honolulu, HI	$65,300	$31/hr
7	Irvine, CA	$65,300	$31/hr
8	Anchorage, AK	$65,300	$31/hr
9	Seattle, WA	$64,400	$31/hr
10	Anaheim, CA	$64,400	$31/hr
11	Newark, NJ	$64,200	$31/hr
12	Boston, MA	$62,300	$30/hr
13	Chicago, IL	$62,000	$30/hr
14	Baltimore, MD	$62,000	$30/hr
15	Stockton, CA	$62,000	$30/hr
16	Hialeah, FL	$62,000	$30/hr
17	San Diego, CA	$61,900	$30/hr
18	Yonkers, NY	$61,600	$30/hr
19	Portland, OR	$61,300	$29/hr
20	Riverside, CA	$61,300	$29/hr
21	Atlanta, GA	$60,800	$29/hr
22	Tampa, FL	$60,800	$29/hr
23	Reno, NV	$60,800	$29/hr
24	Scottsdale, AZ	$60,800	$29/hr
25	Charleston, SC	$60,800	$29/hr
26	Chesapeake, VA	$59,900	$29/hr
27	North Las Vegas, NV	$59,900	$29/hr
28	Chula Vista, CA	$59,700	$29/hr
29	Aurora, CO	$59,300	$29/hr
30	Frisco, TX	$59,300	$29/hr
31	Norfolk, VA	$59,100	$28/hr
32	Las Vegas, NV	$58,800	$28/hr
33	Jacksonville, FL	$58,700	$28/hr
34	Miami, FL	$58,500	$28/hr
35	Fort Worth, TX	$58,300	$28/hr
36	Glendale, AZ	$58,300	$28/hr
37	Garland, TX	$58,300	$28/hr
38	Spokane, WA	$58,300	$28/hr
39	Henderson, NV	$58,100	$28/hr
40	Sacramento, CA	$57,800	$28/hr
41	Arlington, TX	$57,800	$28/hr
42	Virginia Beach, VA	$57,200	$28/hr
43	Boise, ID	$57,200	$28/hr
44	Fresno, CA	$57,200	$28/hr
45	Denver, CO	$57,000	$27/hr
46	Dallas, TX	$56,800	$27/hr
47	Nashville, TN	$56,800	$27/hr
48	Bakersfield, CA	$56,800	$27/hr
49	Corpus Christi, TX	$56,600	$27/hr
50	Greensboro, NC	$56,600	$27/hr
51	El Paso, TX	$56,200	$27/hr
52	Charlotte, NC	$56,100	$27/hr
53	Mesa, AZ	$56,100	$27/hr
54	Austin, TX	$55,900	$27/hr
55	Houston, TX	$55,700	$27/hr
56	Indianapolis, IN	$55,700	$27/hr
57	Louisville, KY	$55,700	$27/hr
58	Minneapolis, MN	$55,500	$27/hr
59	Plano, TX	$55,500	$27/hr
60	Chandler, AZ	$55,500	$27/hr
61	Memphis, TN	$55,300	$27/hr
62	Phoenix, AZ	$54,800	$26/hr
63	Philadelphia, PA	$54,800	$26/hr
64	Milwaukee, WI	$54,800	$26/hr
65	Albuquerque, NM	$54,800	$26/hr
66	New Orleans, LA	$54,800	$26/hr
67	Gilbert, AZ	$54,800	$26/hr
68	Salt Lake City, UT	$54,800	$26/hr
69	Grand Rapids, MI	$54,500	$26/hr
70	Orlando, FL	$54,400	$26/hr
71	Columbus, OH	$54,100	$26/hr
72	Detroit, MI	$54,100	$26/hr
73	Cincinnati, OH	$54,100	$26/hr
74	Kansas City, MO	$54,100	$26/hr
75	Lexington, KY	$54,100	$26/hr
76	Fort Wayne, IN	$54,100	$26/hr
77	Knoxville, TN	$54,100	$26/hr
78	Wilmington, DE	$54,000	$26/hr
79	Raleigh, NC	$54,000	$26/hr
80	St. Paul, MN	$54,000	$26/hr
81	Worcester, MA	$54,000	$26/hr
82	Cleveland, OH	$53,600	$26/hr
83	St. Louis, MO	$53,600	$26/hr
84	Colorado Springs, CO	$53,600	$26/hr
85	St. Petersburg, FL	$53,600	$26/hr
86	Madison, WI	$53,600	$26/hr
87	Omaha, NE	$53,200	$26/hr
88	Oklahoma City, OK	$52,800	$25/hr
89	Tucson, AZ	$52,500	$25/hr
90	Birmingham, AL	$52,500	$25/hr
91	Toledo, OH	$52,500	$25/hr
92	Pittsburgh, PA	$52,100	$25/hr
93	Tallahassee, FL	$52,100	$25/hr
94	Wichita, KS	$51,600	$25/hr
95	Mobile, AL	$51,600	$25/hr
96	San Antonio, TX	$51,400	$25/hr
97	Buffalo, NY	$51,000	$25/hr
98	Winston-Salem, NC	$50,600	$24/hr
99	Lincoln, NE	$49,800	$24/hr
100	Lubbock, TX	$49,500	$24/hr

Does location actually decide Truck Driver pay?

Truck Driver work has to be done on site, so where you live and where you earn are the same question. The 51% spread between Oakland ($74,600) and Lubbock ($49,500) is a spread you can only capture by actually relocating.

One practical constraint: this is a licensed occupation (Commercial Driver's License (CDL Class A) required). Because licenses do not automatically transfer across state lines, the metros on this list are not equally reachable — some will require you to re-qualify before you can work at all.

Highest-paying is not the same as best-off

Gross pay and what you keep are different lists. In Oakland, $74,600 against $2,100/month rent leaves roughly $49,400 a year after housing. In Lubbock, $49,500 against $800 leaves about $39,900. The top still wins after rent, but by $9,500 rather than the $25,100 the headline suggests.

Why these metros and not others

Pay follows employer concentration more than cost of living. Among the top of this list: Oakland (Kaiser Permanente (HQ), Port of Oakland); San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); Long Beach (Port of Long Beach, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center). A Truck Driver at a large employer in a metro where transportation work clusters will typically out-earn the local median for the role — the ranking reflects where those employers sit.

Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which city pays Truck Drivers the most?▾

Oakland, at roughly $74,600. Rent there averages $2,100 a month for a one-bedroom, so about $25,200 of that salary goes to housing before anything else. The metros near the top combine high local costs with concentrated transportation employment — the second part is what actually lifts pay above the local baseline.

Is the highest-paying city actually the best choice for a Truck Driver?▾

Rarely, once housing is subtracted. The list is sorted by gross pay because that is what job postings show, but the cost-adjusted figures are the ones that predict how the money feels month to month.

Can a Truck Driver work remotely from a cheaper city?▾

Largely no — the work has to be done on site. For this occupation the metro you live in and the metro that pays you are the same, which makes the ranking above a genuine relocation decision rather than something you can arbitrage.

Do I need a new license to work as a Truck Driver in another state?▾

Often yes. Truck Driver requires Commercial Driver's License (CDL Class A) required, issued state by state. Some states have reciprocity agreements that make the transfer routine; others require re-examination. Confirm with the destination board before treating a higher-paying metro as reachable.