Truck Driver Salary Guide | The Pay Scale For Truckers

Trucker Pay & Benefits 101

Long drives, big trucks, and truck stop food are just some of the things that go along with being a trucker today. For a truck driver, however, the biggest incentive is their paycheck…

We’re well into 2022 and freight demand is on the rise again. Truck drivers are still in high demand with a massive lack of qualified drivers to fill the ranks of many trucking companies.

But for potential drivers, the biggest question remains: how much does truck driving pay in 2023?

There are a few variables that go into the “average” we use, but it comes from over 6.5 million salaries submitted from truckers online and job boards.

A large data source of this kind allows us to have a better understanding of how much the average trucker will make and share it with you. Remember, this is a national average and you should check with each company to verify the data in your area.

Our new median pay is $59,158

This comes out to drivers earning $1,137 per week. From the data set provided, we can also see that at the lowest point, salaries were $17,200 per year. We’re assuming that this is a part-time position wherein the driver did not log a lot of time.

Alternatively, the high-end salary was $166,000 per year. These drivers either have a very long tenure, but most likely they’re owner-operators.

Trucking Company Pay Rankings

#	Company (Click For Profile)	Annual Pay
1	GP Transco	$87,723
2	Barr-Nunn	$87,142
3	Wal-Mart	$87,013
4	Epes Transport	$83,921
5	Hogan Transportation	$83,876
6	Mercer Transportation	$83,740
7	Grand Island Express	$83,000
8	Artur Express Inc	$82,955
9	Gypsum Express	$82.244
10	ATS Trucking	$80,000
11	Brady Trucking	$79,906
12	Freymiller Inc	$79,700
13	Western Express	$79,628
14	DOT Foods Transportation	$77,807
15	Central Oregon Truck Company	$77,502
16	Variant Trucking	$77,277
17	Trimac Transportation	$76,796
18	Transco Lines	$76,464
19	Real Trucking Inc	$75,660
20	Sysco	$75,547
21	Estes Trucking	$75,000
22	PTL Trucking	$75,000
23	Foodliner	$74,580
24	ABF Freight	$73,562
25	Hub Group	$73,500
26	Dupre Logistics	$73,488
27	Heniff Transportation	$72,800
28	Central Transport	$72,540
29	Holland Freight	$72,086
30	Riverside Transport	$71,880
31	Hilco Transport	$71,777
32	Shaffer Trucking	$71,477
33	United Road	$71,305
34	Penske Logistics	$70,601
35	Jack Cooper Transport	$70,328
36	R&L Carriers	$70, 119
37	Koch Trucking	$69,962
38	McLane Trucking	$69,779
39	Western Dairy Transport	$69,707
40	Cassens Transport	$69,623
41	Old Dominion	$69,000
42	Super Ego Holding	$68,616
43	Dana Transport	$68,380
44	Lily Transportation	$68,000
45	Experior Transport	$67,914
46	Peninsula Truck Lines	$67,899
47	A.Duie Pyle	$67,727
48	Red Classic Transit	$67,340
49	Cardinal Logistics	$67,244
50	Nussbaum Transportation	$67,147
51	Western Flyer Xpress	$67,111
52	Wilson Logistics	$67,069
53	Cowan Systems	$66,644
54	Fed-Ex Freight	$66,462
55	Smith Transport	$66,265
56	Werner Trucking	$66,108
57	SAIA	$66,069
58	Crete Carrier	$66,000
59	Arka Express	$65,693
60	National Carriers	$65,596
61	JB Hunt	$65,512
62	RoadRunner Freight	$65,400
63	Road Scholar Transport	$65,393
64	Ruan Transportation	$65,183
65	XPO Logistics	$65,071
66	DART Transit	$64,739
67	Total Transportation of Mississippi	$64,673
68	Dayton Freight	$64,389
69	Black Horse Carriers	$64,272
70	Decker Truck Line	$63,124
71	USF Reddaway	$62,864
72	Averitt Express	$62,750
73	Action Resources	$62,737
74	Venture Express	$62,608
75	Yellow Freight	$62,282
76	Transport America	$62,253
77	Universal Logistics	$62,001
78	AAA Cooper Transportation	$61,252
79	System Transport	$61,503
80	NFI Industries	$61,491
81	Kreilkamp Trucking	$61,167
82	Veriha Trucking	$60,057
83	P&S Transportation	$60,000
84	Big G Express	$59,701
85	Roehl Transport	$59,652
86	EOS Trucking	$59,484
87	Mesilla Valley Transportation	$59,399
88	N&M Transfer	$58,779
89	Watkins Shepard	$58,431
90	Coastal Transport	$58,422
91	K&B Transportation	$58,322
92	Acme Truck Line	$58,245
93	ACI Motor Freight	$58,023
94	UPS Freight	$57,866
95	JNJ Express	$57,817
96	Knight Transportation	$57,710
97	Combined Transport Inc	$58,700
98	Bulkmatic Transport	$57,276
99	ABCO Transportation	$57,015
100	Covenant Transport	$56,787
101	Magnum Trucking	$56,706
102	Gardner Trucking	$56,305
103	Pitt Ohio	$56,000
104	Garner Trucking	$55,000
105	TMC Trucking	$54,907
106	Kenan Advantage Group	$54,714
107	Cooke Trucking Co	$54,643
108	Heartland Express	$54,600
109	Stevens Transport	$54,362
110	Schneider National	$53,600
111	Navajo Express	$53,230
112	Central Freight Lines	$52,991
113	Ceva Logistics	$52,595
114	Con-Way Freight	$52,480
115	Southeastern Freight Lines	$52,472
116	McElroy Truck Lines	$52,409
117	CFI Trucking	$52,402
118	Pinnacle Transport Group	$52,120
119	Halvor Lines	$52,131
120	United States Postal Service Freight	$51,869
121	Rush Trucking	$51,740
122	Blue Max Trucking	$51,585
123	Gazelle Transportation	$51,163
124	Melton Truck Lines	$51,000
125	Bennett Motor Express	$51,000
126	CRST Trucking	$49,985
127	Indian River Transport	$49,920
128	Andrus Transportation	$49,912
129	PAM Transport	$49,816
130	TransAm Trucking	$49,244
131	Ward Trucking	$49,200
132	KLLM Transport	$58,728
133	New Penn Motor Express	$48,440
134	Maverick Trucking	$47,687
135	Tri-National Inc	$47,627
136	May Trucking	$46,835
137	Ozark Motor Lines	$46,713
138	Prime Inc	$46,187
139	Boyd Bros Transportation	$46,262
140	Panther Trucking	$46,083
141	Horizon Transport	$46,002
142	FFE Transportation	$45,892
143	Spirit Truck Lines	$44,985
144	Carter Express	$44,816
145	Pride Transport	$44,589
146	Raider Express	$44,362
147	InterState Distributor	$43,663
148	CT Transport	$42,952
149	WTI Transport	$42,920
150	CR England	$42,695
151	USA Truck Inc	$42,377
152	Carolina Cargo	$41,600
153	Millis Transfer	$41,333
154	Cypress Truck Lines	$40,402
155	CH Robinson	$40,016
156	Falcon Transport	$39,878
157	Swift Transportation	$38,851
158	Southern Refrigerated Transport	$35,202
159	Lazer Sport Inc	$34,627
160	John Christner Trucking	$33,799
161	Star Transportation	$31,252
162

Pay Per Hour

Often, truck driver salaries are negotiated around a rate that is based on mileage and not on hours.

For an experienced independent truck driver, the rate per mile could be as high as 80 cents a mile. This means for an experienced independent truck driver traveling an average of 70 miles an hour on the interstate can make an average of 56 dollars an hour. If the haul, or trip, equals out to 800 miles then the driver will make $640. This of course does not include his or her rates for accommodations.

Experience and Reputation

The average salary for a truck driver is based on your specific driving experience and reputation.

A reputable truck driver is often going to get paid a higher rate because he or she is in high demand.

Until a driver builds a reputation as a professional and reliable CDL driver they will have to be satisfied with a lower pay rate. Just like many other job professions out there, the truck driver job pay amount you earn will depend on a person’s ability to perform at or above the employer’s expectations.