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	$90,000
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	Real Trucking Inc	$75,660
19	Sysco	$75,547
20	Estes Trucking	$75,000
21	PTL Trucking	$75,000
22	Foodliner	$74,580
23	ABF Freight	$73,562
24	Hub Group	$73,500
25	Dupre Logistics	$73,488
26	Heniff Transportation	$72,800
27	Central Transport	$72,540
28	Holland Freight	$72,086
29	Riverside Transport	$71,880
30	Hilco Transport	$71,777
31	Shaffer Trucking	$71,477
32	United Road	$71,305
33	Penske Logistics	$70,601
34	Jack Cooper Transport	$70,328
35	Koch Trucking	$69,962
36	McLane Trucking	$69,779
37	Western Dairy Transport	$69,707
38	Cassens Transport	$69,623
39	Old Dominion	$69,000
40	Dana Transport	$68,380
41	Lily Transportation	$68,000
42	Experior Transport	$67,914
43	Peninsula Truck Lines	$67,899
44	A.Duie Pyle	$67,727
45	Red Classic Transit	$67,340
46	Cardinal Logistics	$67,244
47	Nussbaum Transportation	$67,147
48	Western Flyer Xpress	$67,111
49	Cowan Systems	$66,644
50	Fed-Ex Freight	$66,462
51	Smith Transport	$66,265
52	Werner Trucking	$66,108
53	SAIA	$66,069
54	Crete Carrier	$66,000
55	Arka Express	$65,693
56	National Carriers	$65,596
57	JB Hunt	$65,512
58	RoadRunner Freight	$65,400
59	Road Scholar Transport	$65,393
60	Ruan Transportation	$65,183
61	XPO Logistics	$65,071
62	DART Transit	$64,739
63	Total Transportation of Mississippi	$64,673
64	Dayton Freight	$64,389
65	Black Horse Carriers	$64,272
66	Decker Truck Line	$63,124
67	USF Reddaway	$62,864
68	Averitt Express	$62,750
69	Action Resources	$62,737
70	Venture Express	$62,608
71	Yellow Freight	$62,282
72	Transport America	$62,253
73	AAA Cooper Transportation	$61,252
74	System Transport	$61,503
75	NFI Industries	$61,491
76	Kreilkamp Trucking	$61,167
77	Veriha Trucking	$60,057
78	P&S Transportation	$60,000
79	Big G Express	$59,701
80	Roehl Transport	$59,652
81	Mesilla Valley Transportation	$59,399
82	N&M Transfer	$58,779
83	Watkins Shepard	$58,431
84	Coastal Transport	$58,422
85	K&B Transportation	$58,322
86	Acme Truck Line	$58,245
87	ACI Motor Freight	$58,023
88	UPS Freight	$57,866
89	JNJ Express	$57,817
90	Knight Transportation	$57,710
91	Bulkmatic Transport	$57,276
92	ABCO Transportation	$57,015
93	Covenant Transport	$56,787
94	Magnum Trucking	$56,706
95	R&L Carriers	$56,704
96	Gardner Trucking	$56,305
97	Pitt Ohio	$56,000
98	Garner Trucking	$55,000
99	TMC Trucking	$54,907
100	Kenan Advantage Group	$54,714
101	Heartland Express	$54,600
102	Stevens Transport	$54,362
103	Schneider National	$53,600
104	Navajo Express	$53,230
105	Central Freight Lines	$52,991
106	Ceva Logistics	$52,595
107	Con-Way Freight	$52,480
108	Southeastern Freight Lines	$52,472
109	McElroy Truck Lines	$52,409
110	CFI Trucking	$52,402
111	Pinnacle Transport Group	$52,120
112	Halvor Lines	$52,131
113	United States Postal Service Freight	$51,869
114	Rush Trucking	$51,740
115	Blue Max Trucking	$51,585
116	Gazelle Transportation	$51,163
117	Melton Truck Lines	$51,000
118	Bennett Motor Express	$51,000
119	CRST Trucking	$49,985
120	Indian River Transport	$49,920
121	Andrus Transportation	$49,912
122	PAM Transport	$49,816
123	TransAm Trucking	$49,244
124	Ward Trucking	$49,200
125	KLLM Transport	$58,728
126	New Penn Motor Express	$48,440
127	Maverick Trucking	$47,687
128	Tri-National Inc	$47,627
129	May Trucking	$46,835
130	Ozark Motor Lines	$46,713
131	Prime Inc	$46,187
132	Boyd Bros Transportation	$46,262
133	Panther Trucking	$46,083
134	Horizon Transport	$46,002
135	FFE Transportation	$45,892
136	Spirit Truck Lines	$44,985
137	Carter Express	$44,816
138	Pride Transport	$44,589
139	Raider Express	$44,362
140	InterState Distributor	$43,663
141	CT Transport	$42,952
142	WTI Transport	$42,920
143	CR England	$42,695
144	USA Truck Inc	$42,377
145	Carolina Cargo	$41,600
146	Millis Transfer	$41,333
147	Cypress Truck Lines	$40,402
148	CH Robinson	$40,016
149	Falcon Transport	$39,878
150	Swift Transportation	$38,851
151	Southern Refrigerated Transport	$35,202
152	Lazer Sport Inc	$34,627
153	John Christner Trucking	$33,799
154	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.