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 2023 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	Standard Forwarding	$82,493
10	Gypsum Express	$82.244
11	ATS Trucking	$80,000
12	Brady Trucking	$79,906
13	Freymiller Inc	$79,700
14	Western Express	$79,628
15	Cheeseman Transport	$78,418
16	DOT Foods Transportation	$77,807
17	Central Oregon Truck Company	$77,502
18	Variant Trucking	$77,277
19	Trimac Transportation	$76,796
20	Transco Lines	$76,464
21	Real Trucking Inc	$75,660
22	Sysco	$75,547
23	Estes Trucking	$75,000
24	PTL Trucking	$75,000
25	Foodliner	$74,580
26	ABF Freight	$73,562
27	Hub Group	$73,500
28	Dupre Logistics	$73,488
29	Heniff Transportation	$72,800
30	Central Transport	$72,540
31	Holland Freight	$72,086
32	Riverside Transport	$71,880
33	Hilco Transport	$71,777
34	Shaffer Trucking	$71,477
35	United Road	$71,305
36	Matheson Trucking	$70,914
37	Penske Logistics	$70,601
38	Jack Cooper Transport	$70,328
39	R&L Carriers	$70, 119
40	Koch Trucking	$69,962
41	McLane Trucking	$69,779
42	Western Dairy Transport	$69,707
43	Cassens Transport	$69,623
44	Old Dominion	$69,000
45	Super Ego Holding	$68,616
46	Dana Transport	$68,380
47	Lily Transportation	$68,000
48	Experior Transport	$67,914
49	Peninsula Truck Lines	$67,899
50	A.Duie Pyle	$67,727
51	Red Classic Transit	$67,340
52	Cardinal Logistics	$67,244
53	Nussbaum Transportation	$67,147
54	Western Flyer Xpress	$67,111
55	Wilson Logistics	$67,069
56	Cowan Systems	$66,644
57	Fed-Ex Freight	$66,462
58	Smith Transport	$66,265
59	Werner Trucking	$66,108
60	SAIA	$66,069
61	Crete Carrier	$66,000
62	Arka Express	$65,693
63	National Carriers	$65,596
64	JB Hunt	$65,512
65	RoadRunner Freight	$65,400
66	Road Scholar Transport	$65,393
67	Ruan Transportation	$65,183
68	XPO Logistics	$65,071
69	DART Transit	$64,739
70	Total Transportation of Mississippi	$64,673
71	Dayton Freight	$64,389
72	Black Horse Carriers	$64,272
73	Decker Truck Line	$63,124
74	USF Reddaway	$62,864
75	Averitt Express	$62,750
76	Action Resources	$62,737
77	Venture Express	$62,608
78	Yellow Freight	$62,282
79	Transport America	$62,253
80	Universal Logistics	$62,001
81	AAA Cooper Transportation	$61,252
82	System Transport	$61,503
83	NFI Industries	$61,491
84	Kreilkamp Trucking	$61,167
85	Veriha Trucking	$60,057
86	P&S Transportation	$60,000
87	Big G Express	$59,701
88	Roehl Transport	$59,652
89	EOS Trucking	$59,484
90	Mesilla Valley Transportation	$59,399
91	N&M Transfer	$58,779
92	Watkins Shepard	$58,431
93	Coastal Transport	$58,422
94	K&B Transportation	$58,322
95	Acme Truck Line	$58,245
96	ACI Motor Freight	$58,023
97	UPS Freight	$57,866
98	JNJ Express	$57,817
99	Knight Transportation	$57,710
100	Combined Transport Inc	$58,700
101	Bulkmatic Transport	$57,276
102	ABCO Transportation	$57,015
103	Covenant Transport	$56,787
104	Magnum Trucking	$56,706
105	Gardner Trucking	$56,305
106	Pitt Ohio	$56,000
107	Garner Trucking	$55,000
108	TMC Trucking	$54,907
109	Kenan Advantage Group	$54,714
110	Cooke Trucking Co	$54,643
111	Heartland Express	$54,600
112	Stevens Transport	$54,362
113	Schneider National	$53,600
114	Navajo Express	$53,230
115	Central Freight Lines	$52,991
116	Ceva Logistics	$52,595
117	Con-Way Freight	$52,480
118	Southeastern Freight Lines	$52,472
119	McElroy Truck Lines	$52,409
120	CFI Trucking	$52,402
121	Pinnacle Transport Group	$52,120
122	Halvor Lines	$52,131
123	United States Postal Service Freight	$51,869
124	Rush Trucking	$51,740
125	Blue Max Trucking	$51,585
126	Gazelle Transportation	$51,163
127	Melton Truck Lines	$51,000
128	Bennett Motor Express	$51,000
129	CRST Trucking	$49,985
130	Indian River Transport	$49,920
131	Andrus Transportation	$49,912
132	PAM Transport	$49,816
133	TransAm Trucking	$49,244
134	Ward Trucking	$49,200
135	KLLM Transport	$58,728
136	New Penn Motor Express	$48,440
137	Maverick Trucking	$47,687
138	Tri-National Inc	$47,627
139	May Trucking	$46,835
140	Ozark Motor Lines	$46,713
141	Prime Inc	$46,187
142	Boyd Bros Transportation	$46,262
143	Panther Trucking	$46,083
144	Horizon Transport	$46,002
145	FFE Transportation	$45,892
146	Spirit Truck Lines	$44,985
147	Carter Express	$44,816
148	Pride Transport	$44,589
149	Raider Express	$44,362
150	InterState Distributor	$43,663
151	CT Transport	$42,952
152	WTI Transport	$42,920
153	CR England	$42,695
154	USA Truck Inc	$42,377
155	Carolina Cargo	$41,600
156	Millis Transfer	$41,333
157	Cypress Truck Lines	$40,402
158	CH Robinson	$40,016
159	Falcon Transport	$39,878
160	Swift Transportation	$38,851
161	Southern Refrigerated Transport	$35,202
162	Lazer Sport Inc	$34,627
163	John Christner Trucking	$33,799
164	Star Transportation	$31,252

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.