Commercial Trucking recruiters serving Bakersfield.
Bakersfield has 57% more heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers per job than the country as a whole, about 7,050 in the metro. BLS counts 718 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 Bakersfield.
BLS counts about 10,680 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Bakersfield metro, the largest group being heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (about 7,050). Relative to the size of the local economy, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are far more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 1.57). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Trucking hub.
CDL-A Truck Driver
Sample job description →Bakersfield: 7,050 employed · $57,690 median, 68th-highest of 112 metros
CDL-B Truck Driver
Sample job description →Bakersfield: 1,560 employed · $43,320 median, 58th-highest of 112 metros
Dispatcher / Fleet Coordinator
Bakersfield: 540 employed · $50,750 median, 31st-highest of 111 metros
Fleet Manager
Bakersfield: 490 employed · $95,510 median, 102nd-highest of 112 metros
Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)
Bakersfield: 700 employed · $80,040 median, 39th-highest of 112 metros
Diesel Mechanic / Fleet Technician
Bakersfield: 860 employed · $63,520 median, 40th-highest of 112 metros
Logistics Coordinator
Bakersfield: 30 employed · $59,310 median, 21st-highest of 96 metros
Driver Recruiter
Bakersfield: 1,240 employed · $76,700 median, 29th-highest of 112 metros
Terminal Manager
Route / Delivery Supervisor
Bakersfield: 1,210 employed · $67,490 median, 14th-highest of 112 metros
What Commercial Trucking roles earn in Bakersfield.
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Bakersfield earn a median $57,690, level with the $58,640 national figure, and 68th of 112 metros. Pay runs $38,490 at the tenth percentile to $74,870 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is first-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, at $67,490 against $62,890 nationally.
| Role | Bakersfield median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDL-A Truck DriverHeavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) | $57,690 | $38,490–$74,870 | $58,640 | −2% | 7,050 |
| CDL-B Truck DriverLight Truck Drivers (53-3033) | $43,320 | $34,320–$81,480 | $44,860 | −3% | 1,560 |
| Dispatcher / Fleet CoordinatorDispatchers (43-5032) | $50,750 | $37,190–$76,400 | $50,340 | +1% | 540 |
| Fleet Manager · Terminal ManagerTransportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (11-3071) | $95,510 | $69,690–$162,500 | $107,230 | −11% | 490 |
| Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)Compliance Officers (13-1041) | $80,040 | $48,890–$144,640 | $80,730 | −1% | 700 |
| Diesel Mechanic / Fleet TechnicianBus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists (49-3031) | $63,520 | $39,120–$85,870 | $61,770 | +3% | 860 |
| Logistics CoordinatorCargo and Freight Agents (43-5011) | $59,310 | $42,100–$85,040 | $52,260 | +13% | 30 |
| Driver RecruiterHuman Resources Specialists (13-1071) | $76,700 | $47,980–$121,660 | $75,940 | +1% | 1,240 |
| Route / Delivery SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers (53-1047) | $67,490 | $43,680–$98,530 | $62,890 | +7% | 1,210 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Bakersfield 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 Bakersfield's commercial trucking market has changed since 2018.
The number of general freight trucking companies in Bakersfield rose from 288 in 2018 to 718 in 2023, up 149%, ahead of the 49% national rise. Headcount at those firms went up 70%, to about 3,905 people. Average annual pay there went from $52,758 to $59,143 (+12%), slower than the 23% national increase.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| General freight trucking companies: business locations | 288 | 718 | +149% |
| General freight trucking companies: employment | 2,293 | 3,905 | +70% |
| General freight trucking companies: average annual pay | $52,758 | $59,143 | +12% |
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
Bakersfield runs 57% more commercial trucking workers per job than the country as a whole — well above the national concentration. More per job means more people to reach, and more employers reaching 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 Bakersfield's commercial trucking market compares
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Bakersfield ranks 56th for headcount, 63rd for median pay and 7th for concentration for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. That puts it among the deepest commercial trucking labor markets in the country.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 61,270 | $60,340 | 0.74 | 6,548 |
| Riverside | 40,230 | $60,580 | 1.77 | 3,204 |
| San Francisco | 16,450 | $66,450 | 0.52 | 1,040 |
| Sacramento | 10,960 | $60,810 | 0.76 | 1,227 |
| San Diego | 10,440 | $59,780 | 0.51 | 645 |
| Stockton | 10,110 | $60,470 | 2.63 | 1,016 |
| Fresno | 8,170 | $55,740 | 1.29 | 949 |
| Bakersfield | 7,050 | $57,690 | 1.57 | 718 |
| San Jose | 5,360 | $70,730 | 0.36 | 285 |
| Modesto | 3,510 | $58,330 | 1.36 | 378 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial trucking employers in Bakersfield, the pool is deep and still growing, so the constraint is competition rather than supply. Move fast on good candidates, because another local firm is probably talking to them too.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Bakersfield metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Trucking licensing in California.
An 18-year-old may hold a California CDL and drive for hire within California, but Vehicle Code 12515 requires age 21 for interstate operation, and California requires 21 for hazardous materials or hazardous waste whether the run is intrastate or interstate - so an 18-to-20-year-old cannot cross a state line and cannot take a placarded load even inside California. The Department publishes no California-specific intrastate medical waiver; it handles only the federal picture, with a Skill Performance Evaluation, waiver or exemption transmitted electronically from the National Registry alongside the medical certificate. The intrastate self-certification label is NA and the interstate one NI, and changing self-certification requires a field-office visit and a new form DL 694. One current California-only issue: the Department has announced that until further notice it cannot issue, reissue or renew limited-term non-domiciled commercial driver licences. The same state rules apply in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose, Fresno, Stockton and Modesto, so candidates licensed there can work in Bakersfield without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: California Department of Motor Vehicles. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Bakersfield talent.
The closest metro we cover is Los Angeles, about 100 miles away, with roughly 61,270 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (8.7 times Bakersfield's 7,050). San Jose pays the most nearby, a $70,730 median, 23% above Bakersfield. That is the number any Bakersfield offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move. Los Angeles has the deepest pool within reach, so a search for senior roles here usually extends there.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | – | 7,050 | $57,690 |
| Los Angeles | 101 mi | 61,270 | $60,340 |
| Fresno | 104 mi | 8,170 | $55,740 |
| Riverside | 135 mi | 40,230 | $60,580 |
| Modesto | 191 mi | 3,510 | $58,330 |
| San Jose | 210 mi | 5,360 | $70,730 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Bakersfield crews.
Not commercial trucking work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Bakersfield in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Bakersfield Renewable Fuels refinery conversion$365M capital partnershipCompleted 2024; restructured 2025, now operating as Grapevine Energy Holdings
Converted a former crude-oil refinery into a renewable diesel bio-refinery producing roughly 250,000 gallons per day. The project went through a 2025 prepackaged Chapter 11 restructuring after a dispute with its EPC contractor and emerged 118 days later under new ownership - real turbulence, but the facility itself is operating.
- Regional clean-energy investment$69B (region-wide, as reported)Cumulative through 2026
Kern County has attracted a large wave of renewable natural gas, solar-to-hydrogen, and related facility investment, reshaping the region's traditional oil-and-gas industrial base.
These are the 2 projects we track in Bakersfield. The Bakersfield market page covers hiring conditions across every trade here.
What credentials matter for commercial trucking, and what kills offers in Bakersfield.
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 Bakersfield a linehaul market or a last-mile one?
For every light-truck driver BLS counts in Bakersfield there are 4.5 heavy and tractor-trailer drivers - 7,050 against 1,560, the widest split of the 112 metros we cover.
Weighted that far to Class A, the linehaul and regional pool is deeper than the headcount suggests and the local-delivery bench thinner.
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 Bakersfield.
What do heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn in Bakersfield?
BLS puts the Bakersfield median for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers at $57,690 a year, about the same as the $58,640 national median. That ranks 68th of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Most of the market sits between $38,490 and $74,870, a 1.9x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. Within California, San Jose pays more, at $70,730.
Is it hard to hire heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Bakersfield?
Not by national standards. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers make up 57% more of the Bakersfield workforce than they do nationally, about 7,050 people. The 718 general freight trucking companies here average about 5.4 employees per location, mostly small shops, so candidates often know every employer in town by name. With 149% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which commercial trucking roles pay the most in Bakersfield?
Of the roles we recruit for, Fleet Manager pays the most in Bakersfield, a $95,510 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Route / Delivery Supervisor at $67,490, 29% below it. CDL-B Truck Driver is the lowest-paid field role at $43,320. Relative to national pay, Logistics Coordinator is the strongest-paying role here (13% above). Fleet Manager trails national pay the most (11% below).
How many general freight trucking companies operate in Bakersfield?
BLS counted 718 general freight trucking companies in Bakersfield in 2023, employing about 3,905 people between them. Up from 288 in 2018, a 149% increase against 49% growth nationally. That averages 5.4 people per location, so most are small shops. They pay an average of $59,143, 10% below the $65,587 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Bakersfield for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Los Angeles (101 miles, about 61,270, $60,340 median), Fresno (104 miles, about 8,170, $55,740 median) and Riverside (135 miles, about 40,230, $60,580 median). Los Angeles has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Riverside pays 5% more, which is where Bakersfield employers tend to lose people.
Plenty of people. Few of them looking.
Bakersfield has one of the deeper pools of heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers we cover, but the best of them are already working. Let's find the ones ready to move.
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