10 industries where truck drivers earn the most
America's economy would come to a halt without truckers. The supply chains from factories and import locations to distributors and retailers—and our homes—would slam to a stop, leaving businesses and families alike without most of the items we need to live our lives. It's very likely everything you see around you or touched today spent some part of its life on a truck. But the United States may begin to feel the effects of a trucker shortage more acutely in the coming years.
Nationwide, there are about 1.9 million semitruck drivers, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Still, the U.S. reported a shortage of nearly 80,000 truckers in 2022, which is expected to grow as freight demand increases. Roughly 1 million drivers must be recruited over the next 10 years to replace turnover and an aging workforce, according to the American Trucking Associations. If not, the driver shortage could grow to 160,000 by 2031.
Despite an often grueling schedule—1 in 5 truckers report 75-hour workweeks, but many are paid only for miles driven—and the outsized role they play in the country's economy, truckers' compensation often does not reflect their value.
The median annual wage for truck drivers in 1980 was more than $100,000 in today's dollars. That year saw the passage of the federal Motor Carrier Act, deregulating the U.S. trucking industry and eventually leading to lower wages for drivers. In 2021, the median annual wage for truck drivers was $48,310 while only the top 10% of truckers made more than $72,730.
Truckinfo.net used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to find which industries pay drivers of heavy trucks the most. Industries are ranked by median annual wages for truckers. The analysis also provides the total number of truckers employed in the industry and the percentage they comprise of total employment in the industry, though neither number is considered in the ranking. This data reflects employees who operate as heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, and doesn't include self-employed or contract drivers, light truck drivers, or industrial truck and tractor operators. The analysis uses mid-level industry codes, specifically North American Industry Classification System four-digit codes.
