Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

53-3032 Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer

Drive a tractor-trailer combination or a truck with a capacity of at least 26,000 GVW, to transport and deliver goods, livestock, or materials in liquid, loose, or packaged form. May be required to unload truck. May require use of automated routing equipment. Requires commercial drivers' license.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
1,520,880 0.7 % $16.52 $34,350 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $10.01 $12.51 $15.97 $20.01 $23.75
Annual Wage (2) $20,820 $26,020 $33,210 $41,610 $49,400

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
General freight trucking 514,080 $17.77 $36,950 1 33
Specialized freight trucking 187,850 $16.48 $34,290 2 62
Cement and concrete product manufacturing 66,620 $14.85 $30,890 3 143
Grocery and Related Product Wholesalers 56,240 $17.72 $36,860 4 34
Other specialty trade contractors 41,280 $15.38 $31,990 5 113

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Spectator sports 220 $24.58 $51,140 160 1
Wired telecommunications carriers 300 $23.81 $49,530 149 2
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing 610 $21.50 $44,720 114 3
Motion picture and video industries (6) $21.20 $44,100 (6) 4
Apparel and piece goods merchant wholesalers 160 $21.17 $44,020 174 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Nebraska 23,670 $16.47 $34,250 2.711% 227
Arkansas 27,580 $15.43 $32,100 2.461% 248
Tennessee 56,230 $16.77 $34,880 2.148% 278
Wyoming 4,930 $15.19 $31,600 2.052% 229
North Dakota 6,300 $15.06 $31,320 2.013% 228

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Alaska 2,460 $20.42 $42,470 0.858% 206
Massachusetts 23,690 $18.38 $38,220 0.740% 342
Connecticut 11,890 $18.36 $38,180 0.724% 313
New York 55,350 $18.06 $37,560 0.668% 368
Illinois 70,350 $17.98 $37,390 1.214% 320

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Joplin, MO MSA 4,520 $18.78 $39,060 6.083%
Chattanooga, TN-GA MSA 10,740 $18.33 $38,120 4.947%
Cedar Rapids, IA MSA 4,440 $15.97 $33,220 3.837%
Fort Smith, AR-OK MSA 3,430 $15.57 $32,390 3.505%
Laredo, TX MSA 2,380 $15.15 $31,510 3.321%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Bridgeport, CT PMSA 1,090 $24.94 $51,870 0.592%
Nassau-Suffolk, NY PMSA 8,570 $20.52 $42,680 0.720%
Stamford-Norwalk, CT PMSA 940 $20.23 $42,070 0.470%
Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA MSA 7,400 $20.18 $41,970 2.097%
New York, NY PMSA 14,310 $20.05 $41,690 0.358%

About 2002 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Data for detailed occupations does not sum to the totals because the totals include data for occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

2002 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 26, 2003