Commercial Trucking recruiters serving Albany.
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are scarcer in Albany than in most of the country, 19% fewer per job, so the roughly 4,830 who work here are rarely short of offers. BLS counts 108 business locations of general freight trucking companies across the metro. Below: local pay for every role we staff, the state licensing rules that apply and the nearby markets competing for the same people.
Positions we recruit for in Albany.
BLS counts about 10,230 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Albany metro, the largest group being heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (about 4,830). Relative to the size of the local economy, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are less concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 0.81). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Trucking hub.
CDL-A Truck Driver
Sample job description →Albany: 4,830 employed · $60,720 median, 23rd-highest of 112 metros
CDL-B Truck Driver
Sample job description →Albany: 3,030 employed · $41,360 median, 84th-highest of 112 metros
Dispatcher / Fleet Coordinator
Albany: 440 employed · $49,670 median, 50th-highest of 111 metros
Fleet Manager
Albany: 390 employed · $105,020 median, 49th-highest of 112 metros
Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)
Albany: 1,710 employed · $81,190 median, 35th-highest of 112 metros
Diesel Mechanic / Fleet Technician
Albany: 780 employed · $63,850 median, 38th-highest of 112 metros
Logistics Coordinator
Albany: 140 employed · $59,890 median, 12th-highest of 96 metros
Driver Recruiter
Albany: 2,970 employed · $77,000 median, 27th-highest of 112 metros
Terminal Manager
Route / Delivery Supervisor
Albany: 1,590 employed · $63,160 median, 41st-highest of 112 metros
What Commercial Trucking roles earn in Albany.
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Albany earn a median $60,720, 4% over the $58,640 national figure, and 23rd of 112 metros. Pay runs $46,960 at the tenth percentile to $80,130 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists, at $63,850 against $61,770 nationally.
| Role | Albany median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDL-A Truck DriverHeavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) | $60,720 | $46,960–$80,130 | $58,640 | +4% | 4,830 |
| CDL-B Truck DriverLight Truck Drivers (53-3033) | $41,360 | $32,240–$60,070 | $44,860 | −8% | 3,030 |
| Dispatcher / Fleet CoordinatorDispatchers (43-5032) | $49,670 | $34,420–$76,210 | $50,340 | −1% | 440 |
| Fleet Manager · Terminal ManagerTransportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (11-3071) | $105,020 | $74,480–$174,240 | $107,230 | −2% | 390 |
| Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)Compliance Officers (13-1041) | $81,190 | $56,530–$125,560 | $80,730 | +1% | 1,710 |
| Diesel Mechanic / Fleet TechnicianBus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists (49-3031) | $63,850 | $46,490–$83,730 | $61,770 | +3% | 780 |
| Logistics CoordinatorCargo and Freight Agents (43-5011) | $59,890 | $46,580–$76,900 | $52,260 | +15% | 140 |
| Driver RecruiterHuman Resources Specialists (13-1071) | $77,000 | $52,000–$118,920 | $75,940 | +1% | 2,970 |
| Route / Delivery SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers (53-1047) | $63,160 | $44,820–$97,420 | $62,890 | 0% | 1,590 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Albany metro. Range is 10th to 90th percentile; management and office roles are metro-wide. A metro ranking counts only the metros where BLS publishes that occupation.
How Albany's commercial trucking market has changed since 2018.
The number of general freight trucking companies in Albany rose from 101 in 2018 to 108 in 2023, up 7%, behind the 49% growth nationally. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Albany, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| General freight trucking companies: business locations | 101 | 108 | +7% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Free Commercial Trucking hiring resources.
Definitive Guide to Commercial Trucking · 2026 Commercial Trucking Salary Guide · 3-Step Interview Guide for Commercial Trucking
Albany runs 19% fewer commercial trucking workers per job than the country as a whole — below the national concentration. Fewer per job means the people you want are already working, and usually for someone who would rather keep them.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers. Metro-wide figures for the base occupation; the wage table above is role-specific and commercial.
How Albany's commercial trucking market compares
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Albany ranks 71st for headcount, 21st for median pay and 68th for concentration for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 65,100 | $65,040 | 0.52 | 4,782 |
| Albany | 4,830 | $60,720 | 0.81 | 108 |
| Buffalo | 4,710 | $59,440 | 0.66 | 220 |
| Syracuse | 4,120 | $61,330 | 1.04 | 113 |
| Rochester | 4,020 | $58,920 | 0.61 | 182 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial trucking employers in Albany, the local pool is thinner than most, so plan on recruiting some roles in from outside the metro.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Albany metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Trucking licensing in New York.
New York publishes a minimum age of 21 for Class A and 18 for Class B and Class C, but the under-21 restrictions attach to all three classes, not only Class A: for ages 18 to 20 in every class there is no interstate commerce, no transporting hazardous materials and no operating a school bus. Class A at 18 to 20 is reached through New York's Class A Young Adult Training Program, which requires entry-level driver training plus supervised driving time. New York prints code K for CDL intrastate only, and the Department states expressly that K does not remove the federal medical examiner's certificate requirement. Employers will also see New York-specific codes that appear almost nowhere else: A3 for medical certification exempt, applied on excepted self-certification, S1 for school bus only, T1 for transit bus only and V for medical variance. Codes print on the front of the licence after the letter R with the descriptions on the back, so check the reverse of the card. The same state rules apply in New York, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, so candidates licensed there can work in Albany without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Albany talent.
The closest metro we cover is Hartford, about 80 miles away, with roughly 5,830 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (1.2 times Albany's 4,830). Pay is close across the region: medians run from $57,580 in Scranton to $61,610 in Worcester, against $60,720 here.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albany | – | 4,830 | $60,720 |
| Hartford | 82 mi | 5,830 | $59,890 |
| Worcester | 103 mi | 4,470 | $61,610 |
| Bridgeport | 106 mi | 3,000 | $61,580 |
| Syracuse | 124 mi | 4,120 | $61,330 |
| Scranton | 130 mi | 5,210 | $57,580 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Albany crews.
Not commercial trucking work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Albany in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- GlobalFoundries Fab 8 expansion (Malta)$11.6B (plus $575M packaging/testing + $186M R&D)Began 2025, multi-year buildout
A new 358,000 sq ft semiconductor manufacturing facility on GlobalFoundries' existing Malta campus, creating 1,500+ direct jobs plus thousands of indirect jobs - the anchor of the region's two-decade-old chip cluster.
- Albany NanoTech High NA EUV Lithography Center$10B partnershipUnder construction
The first and only publicly-owned High NA Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Center in North America, at NY CREATES' Albany NanoTech Complex - cutting-edge semiconductor R&D infrastructure.
- Downtown Albany Strategy$200M ($120M projects + $40M housing + $40M community)Multi-year rollout
A three-fund investment strategy to revitalize the capital city's core - major projects, housing, and public-space improvements.
Showing 3 of 4 projects tracked in this metro. The Albany market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial trucking, and what kills offers in Albany.
The 4 credentials that gate the work and the 4 things that most often end a commercial trucking offer are the same in every market, kept in one place: Commercial Trucking credentials and offer risks, each linked to the body that issues it. What is local is the licensing rule above and the pay further up this page.
Is Albany a linehaul market or a last-mile one?
Albany carries 4,830 heavy and tractor-trailer drivers against 3,030 light-truck drivers, 1.6 to one against a 1.8 median, 73rd of 112 on that ratio.
Neither end dominates, so the pool depends more on which roles you are filling than on the size of the metro.
Nationally it is 2.1 to one.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (53-3032) against light truck drivers (53-3033), across the 112 metros BLS publishes both series for.
Frequently asked - Commercial Trucking hiring in Albany.
What do heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn in Albany?
BLS puts the Albany median for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers at $60,720 a year, 4% above the $58,640 national median. That ranks 23rd of 112 metros with published figures, in the top quarter. Most of the market sits between $46,960 and $80,130, a 1.7x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. Within New York, New York pays more, at $65,040.
Is it hard to hire heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Albany?
Yes. Albany has 19% fewer heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers per job than the country as a whole, roughly 4,830 in the metro, so most of the people worth hiring are already employed.
Which commercial trucking roles pay the most in Albany?
Of the roles we recruit for, Fleet Manager pays the most in Albany, a $105,020 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Diesel Mechanic / Fleet Technician at $63,850, 39% below it. CDL-B Truck Driver is the lowest-paid field role at $41,360. Relative to national pay, Logistics Coordinator is the strongest-paying role here (15% above). CDL-B Truck Driver trails national pay the most (8% below).
How many general freight trucking companies operate in Albany?
BLS counted 108 general freight trucking companies in Albany in 2023. Up from 101 in 2018, a 7% increase against 49% growth nationally. BLS withholds their combined headcount and pay here, which it does when a category is small enough that the figures could identify individual employers.
Which nearby metros compete with Albany for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Hartford (82 miles, about 5,830, $59,890 median), Worcester (103 miles, about 4,470, $61,610 median) and Bridgeport (106 miles, about 3,000, $61,580 median).
Thin market. Short list anyway.
With heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers this scarce in Albany, an open seat rarely fills from a job posting. Let's line up the people before the next one opens.
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