Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

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)
1,528,630 0.7 % $16.51 $34,330 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $10.02 $12.55 $16.01 $20.01 $23.81
Annual Wage (2) $20,850 $26,090 $33,310 $41,610 $49,520

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 526,160 $17.66 $36,730 1 36
Specialized freight trucking 191,480 $16.29 $33,880 2 61
Cement and concrete product manufacturing 70,450 $14.97 $31,140 3 133
Grocery and Related Product Wholesalers 58,610 $17.70 $36,820 4 34
Employment services 40,310 $16.04 $33,360 5 71

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Performing arts companies 50 $24.49 $50,940 188 1
Spectator sports 250 $23.79 $49,490 151 2
Wired telecommunications carriers 380 $23.73 $49,370 132 3
Apparel and piece goods merchant wholesalers (6) $22.18 $46,140 (6) 4
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing 620 $21.97 $45,700 107 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 25,790 $15.27 $31,760 2.940% 303
Arkansas 31,650 $15.73 $32,720 2.830% 254
Tennessee 57,780 $16.76 $34,860 2.211% 303
Iowa 29,850 $14.81 $30,800 2.111% 349
Wyoming 5,070 $15.40 $32,030 2.105% 247

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Alaska 2,500 $19.42 $40,390 0.855% 254
Massachusetts 24,660 $18.55 $38,580 0.777% 364
Connecticut 11,630 $18.48 $38,440 0.709% 346
New York 54,940 $18.09 $37,620 0.665% 397
New Jersey 42,840 $18.08 $37,620 1.107% 391

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 3,880 $16.28 $33,850 5.272%
Chattanooga, TN-GA MSA 11,280 $18.54 $38,560 5.180%
Cedar Rapids, IA MSA 4,460 $15.44 $32,100 3.830%
Laredo, TX MSA 2,690 $15.45 $32,140 3.598%
Fort Smith, AR-OK MSA 3,450 $15.98 $33,240 3.552%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Bridgeport, CT PMSA 1,200 $22.04 $45,840 0.649%
Nassau-Suffolk, NY PMSA 8,800 $20.84 $43,340 0.736%
New York, NY PMSA 13,930 $20.42 $42,460 0.350%
Gary, IN PMSA 4,770 $20.10 $41,820 1.914%
Stamford-Norwalk, CT PMSA 770 $20.07 $41,750 0.385%

About May 2003 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) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include 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

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004