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COMMERCIAL TRUCKING - ROLE PROFILE

CDL-A Truck Driver

Federal figures put this role between $40,140 and $79,380 a year, with a national median of $58,640.

What this role pays.

We have not closed enough commercial trucking searches to publish a band of our own for this seat, so the figures above are the federal 10th to 90th percentile spread rather than a My Trade Talent band. They are national and not adjusted for experience or region.

The federal occupation for this role is Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (SOC 53-3032), May 2025. Nationally it reports a median of $58,640 , with the middle of the market between $40,140 and $79,380.

Where it pays most.

Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers across the metros we cover, May 2025. BLS publishes a median for 112 of them and withholds the rest, where the local sample was too small to be reliable.

Highest-paying metros - Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
Metro Median Employed there
Seattle $71,240 21,230
San Jose $70,730 5,360
San Francisco $66,450 16,450
New York $65,040 65,100
Minneapolis $64,200 20,430
Boston $64,010 20,090
Denver $63,900 14,320
boulder co $63,810 650
Myrtle Beach $46,360 1,960
McAllen $47,040 4,390
Deltona-Daytona $47,660 1,910

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. The last three rows are the lowest-paying metros in the same set. Headcount is metro-wide across every industry, not this trade alone.

Credentials that move an offer.

  • CDL-A

Licensing is a state question, not a national one. The Commercial Trucking hiring page carries the state-by-state position, and every market page names the authority for that state.

What the search actually takes.

We have closed 2 commercial trucking searches in 2026 year to date, which is below the 8 we require before publishing a median. We would rather print the count than a number the sample cannot carry. The Hiring Index shows what we do and do not have.

Searches we have closed in this seat

One of them was for this exact seat rather than the trade in general. Each is written up in full on our placements page: what the opening was, what made it hard, and what the person we placed brought.

Keep reading.

Other Commercial Trucking roles we recruit

All 56 roles we recruit - every trade, every seat.

Hiring a CDL-A Truck Driver? Schedule a call.

Trade Talk A monthly hiring brief for commercial trades employers

What changed in your trade this month, and what to do about it.

One email a month, and only one. We write a separate issue for every trade we recruit in, so you get yours - not a round-up with your trade buried in paragraph nine. Every issue is written for the person actually doing the hiring.

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  • How long roles like yours are taking to fill, and where it is getting worse
  • Interview and screening tactics that are landing candidates this month
  • What contractors competing for the same people are doing differently

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