Commercial Trucking recruiters serving Austin.
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are scarcer in Austin than in most of the country, 37% fewer per job, so the roughly 10,760 who work here are rarely short of offers. BLS counts 327 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 Austin.
BLS counts about 22,520 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Austin metro, the largest group being heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (about 10,760). Relative to the size of the local economy, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are far less concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 0.63). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Trucking hub.
CDL-A Truck Driver
Sample job description →Austin: 10,760 employed · $57,110 median, 71st-highest of 112 metros
CDL-B Truck Driver
Sample job description →Austin: 6,380 employed · $45,820 median, 30th-highest of 112 metros
Dispatcher / Fleet Coordinator
Austin: 1,490 employed · $49,570 median, 53rd-highest of 111 metros
Fleet Manager
Austin: 1,980 employed · $102,720 median, 59th-highest of 112 metros
Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)
Austin: 3,670 employed · $70,720 median, 85th-highest of 112 metros
Diesel Mechanic / Fleet Technician
Austin: 1,560 employed · $61,070 median, 66th-highest of 112 metros
Logistics Coordinator
Austin: 310 employed · $49,860 median, 51st-highest of 96 metros
Driver Recruiter
Austin: 8,940 employed · $75,860 median, 37th-highest of 112 metros
Terminal Manager
Route / Delivery Supervisor
Austin: 3,820 employed · $61,920 median, 62nd-highest of 112 metros
What Commercial Trucking roles earn in Austin.
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Austin earn a median $57,110, level with the $58,640 national figure, and 71st of 112 metros. Pay runs $42,300 at the tenth percentile to $78,210 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is first-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, at $61,920 against $62,890 nationally.
| Role | Austin median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDL-A Truck DriverHeavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) | $57,110 | $42,300–$78,210 | $58,640 | −3% | 10,760 |
| CDL-B Truck DriverLight Truck Drivers (53-3033) | $45,820 | $30,820–$92,260 | $44,860 | +2% | 6,380 |
| Dispatcher / Fleet CoordinatorDispatchers (43-5032) | $49,570 | $34,330–$78,270 | $50,340 | −2% | 1,490 |
| Fleet Manager · Terminal ManagerTransportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (11-3071) | $102,720 | $66,090–$187,940 | $107,230 | −4% | 1,980 |
| Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)Compliance Officers (13-1041) | $70,720 | $47,610–$119,530 | $80,730 | −12% | 3,670 |
| Diesel Mechanic / Fleet TechnicianBus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists (49-3031) | $61,070 | $47,090–$81,000 | $61,770 | −1% | 1,560 |
| Logistics CoordinatorCargo and Freight Agents (43-5011) | $49,860 | $39,460–$73,100 | $52,260 | −5% | 310 |
| Driver RecruiterHuman Resources Specialists (13-1071) | $75,860 | $48,050–$127,240 | $75,940 | 0% | 8,940 |
| Route / Delivery SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers (53-1047) | $61,920 | $42,210–$96,330 | $62,890 | −2% | 3,820 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Austin 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 Austin's commercial trucking market has changed since 2018.
The number of general freight trucking companies in Austin rose from 194 in 2018 to 327 in 2023, up 69%, ahead of the 49% national rise.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| General freight trucking companies: business locations | 194 | 327 | +69% |
| General freight trucking companies: employment | – | 2,446 | – |
| General freight trucking companies: average annual pay | – | $62,357 | – |
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
Austin runs 37% fewer commercial trucking workers per job than the country as a whole — well 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 Austin's commercial trucking market compares
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Austin ranks 39th for headcount, 66th for median pay and 88th for concentration for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth | 55,670 | $59,530 | 1.04 | 2,482 |
| Houston | 49,750 | $56,840 | 1.14 | 2,065 |
| San Antonio | 13,710 | $53,650 | 0.92 | 535 |
| Austin | 10,760 | $57,110 | 0.63 | 327 |
| El Paso | 7,850 | $49,270 | 1.75 | 583 |
| McAllen | 4,390 | $47,040 | 1.12 | 344 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial trucking employers in Austin, the local pool is thin but growing. Expect a mix of local candidates and people recruited in from nearby metros, and budget for relocation on senior roles.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Austin metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Trucking licensing in Texas.
Texas issues CDLs from 18: the Department's medical certification rules require non-excepted interstate drivers to be 21 or older and excepted interstate drivers to be 18 or older, so 18 is the floor for Class A and Class B with 21 required for ordinary interstate work. Texas prints restriction K, intrastate only. Texas has a state medical exemption route for non-excepted intrastate drivers described on Form CDL-37, and a granted state waiver must be submitted together with the medical examiner's certificate; separately the Texas Limb Waiver remains available to applicants who cannot meet the physical requirements and limits the driver to commercial operation within Texas only. The Texas Vision Waiver was withdrawn as of January 1, 2023, with existing holders required to meet the federal alternative vision standards by December 1, 2024 or their certificate expiry - so an older Texas vision waiver is no longer a valid qualification. Texas also has two excepted-intrastate routes with restrictions printed on the licence, one for drivers regularly employed in Texas commercial operation before August 28, 1989 who do not haul placarded hazmat, and one for oil or water well servicing, drilling and mobile crane operations. The same state rules apply in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, McAllen and El Paso, so candidates licensed there can work in Austin without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Texas Department of Public Safety; driver licensing is in Public Safety, not in the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, which handles vehicles only. Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed a commercial trucking search in Austin yet. Here is what we have closed.
These are other trades in the same market. We would rather show you the searches we have actually run in Austin than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Chiller Service TechnicianChillers from one ton to 5,000-ton centrifugals, for data-center clients - placed in twelve days.
Nearby markets competing for Austin talent.
The closest metro we cover is San Antonio, about 75 miles away, with roughly 13,710 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (1.3 times Austin's 10,760). Dallas-Fort Worth pays the most nearby, a $59,530 median, 4% above Austin. That is the number any Austin offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move. Dallas-Fort Worth has the deepest pool within reach, so a search for senior roles here usually extends there.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | – | 10,760 | $57,110 |
| San Antonio | 74 mi | 13,710 | $53,650 |
| Houston | 147 mi | 49,750 | $56,840 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | 182 mi | 55,670 | $59,530 |
| McAllen | 282 mi | 4,390 | $47,040 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Austin crews.
Not commercial trucking work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Austin in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Austin-Bergstrom Intl Airport - "Journey With AUS"Multi-billion expansion programPhased through 2030
New concourse, terminal, and airfield work. Heavy mechanical, electrical, and specialty airport trades with rolling, phased crew needs.
- Hyperscale data center campuses (multiple operators)Billions announced 2024-2026Rolling
Central Texas is now a fast-growing data center corridor. Power-systems electricians, mechanical PMs, and controls techs in extreme demand - competing directly with the fabs for the same crews.
- Samsung Taylor semiconductor fab~$17B (expanding toward $40B+)Phase 1 ramping, expansion ongoing
The single largest force in the Austin-area labor market. Cleanroom, process-piping, high-purity mechanical, and mission-critical electrical trades pulled to premium wages across the entire region.
Showing 3 of 5 projects tracked in this metro. The Austin market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial trucking, and what kills offers in Austin.
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 Austin a linehaul market or a last-mile one?
Austin carries 10,760 heavy and tractor-trailer drivers against 6,380 light-truck drivers, 1.7 to one against a 1.8 median, 65th of 112 on that ratio.
Concentration is low with it - a 0.63 location quotient, 37% below the national rate - so neither the mix nor the depth favours a Class A search.
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 Austin.
What do heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn in Austin?
BLS puts the Austin median for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers at $57,110 a year, about the same as the $58,640 national median. That ranks 71st of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Most of the market sits between $42,300 and $78,210, a 1.8x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. Within Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth pays more, at $59,530.
Is it hard to hire heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Austin?
Yes. Austin has 37% fewer heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers per job than the country as a whole, roughly 10,760 in the metro, so most of the people worth hiring are already employed. The 327 general freight trucking companies here average about 7.5 employees per location, mostly small shops, so candidates often know every employer in town by name. With 69% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which commercial trucking roles pay the most in Austin?
Of the roles we recruit for, Fleet Manager pays the most in Austin, a $102,720 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Route / Delivery Supervisor at $61,920, 40% below it. CDL-B Truck Driver is the lowest-paid field role at $45,820. Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT) trails national pay the most (12% below).
How many general freight trucking companies operate in Austin?
BLS counted 327 general freight trucking companies in Austin in 2023, employing about 2,446 people between them. Up from 194 in 2018, a 69% increase against 49% growth nationally. That averages 7.5 people per location, so most are small shops. They pay an average of $62,357, 5% below the $65,587 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Austin for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are San Antonio (74 miles, about 13,710, $53,650 median), Houston (147 miles, about 49,750, $56,840 median) and Dallas-Fort Worth (182 miles, about 55,670, $59,530 median). Houston has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Austin out-pays San Antonio, an advantage when recruiting from there.
Thin market. Short list anyway.
With heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers this scarce in Austin, an open seat rarely fills from a job posting. Let's line up the people before the next one opens.
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