Commercial Trucking recruiters serving Columbus.
About 16,110 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers work in the Columbus metro, at a $61,720 median. BLS counts 866 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 Columbus.
BLS counts about 31,580 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Columbus metro, the largest group being heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (about 16,110). Relative to the size of the local economy, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 1.10). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Trucking hub.
CDL-A Truck Driver
Sample job description →Columbus: 16,110 employed · $61,720 median, 17th-highest of 112 metros
CDL-B Truck Driver
Sample job description →Columbus: 7,210 employed · $43,800 median, 55th-highest of 112 metros
Dispatcher / Fleet Coordinator
Columbus: 1,220 employed · $51,640 median, 27th-highest of 111 metros
Fleet Manager
Columbus: 2,060 employed · $105,360 median, 48th-highest of 112 metros
Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)
Columbus: 3,020 employed · $79,780 median, 42nd-highest of 112 metros
Diesel Mechanic / Fleet Technician
Columbus: 2,690 employed · $62,190 median, 54th-highest of 112 metros
Logistics Coordinator
Columbus: 640 employed · $50,210 median, 49th-highest of 96 metros
Driver Recruiter
Columbus: 7,740 employed · $75,440 median, 40th-highest of 112 metros
Terminal Manager
Route / Delivery Supervisor
Columbus: 5,570 employed · $62,260 median, 55th-highest of 112 metros
What Commercial Trucking roles earn in Columbus.
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Columbus earn a median $61,720, 5% over the $58,640 national figure, and 17th of 112 metros. Pay runs $46,510 at the tenth percentile to $90,080 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is first-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, at $62,260 against $62,890 nationally.
| Role | Columbus median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDL-A Truck DriverHeavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) | $61,720 | $46,510–$90,080 | $58,640 | +5% | 16,110 |
| CDL-B Truck DriverLight Truck Drivers (53-3033) | $43,800 | $27,930–$67,250 | $44,860 | −2% | 7,210 |
| Dispatcher / Fleet CoordinatorDispatchers (43-5032) | $51,640 | $39,110–$76,980 | $50,340 | +3% | 1,220 |
| Fleet Manager · Terminal ManagerTransportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (11-3071) | $105,360 | $64,110–$186,800 | $107,230 | −2% | 2,060 |
| Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)Compliance Officers (13-1041) | $79,780 | $50,360–$125,160 | $80,730 | −1% | 3,020 |
| Diesel Mechanic / Fleet TechnicianBus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists (49-3031) | $62,190 | $46,680–$80,350 | $61,770 | +1% | 2,690 |
| Logistics CoordinatorCargo and Freight Agents (43-5011) | $50,210 | $41,750–$81,390 | $52,260 | −4% | 640 |
| Driver RecruiterHuman Resources Specialists (13-1071) | $75,440 | $47,380–$124,500 | $75,940 | −1% | 7,740 |
| Route / Delivery SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers (53-1047) | $62,260 | $46,510–$86,150 | $62,890 | −1% | 5,570 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Columbus 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 Columbus's commercial trucking market has changed since 2018.
The number of general freight trucking companies in Columbus rose from 530 in 2018 to 866 in 2023, up 63%, ahead of the 49% national rise. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Columbus, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| General freight trucking companies: business locations | 530 | 866 | +63% |
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
Columbus runs 10% more commercial trucking workers per job than the country as a whole — 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 Columbus's commercial trucking market compares
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Columbus ranks 23rd for headcount, 15th for median pay and 38th for concentration for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | 16,110 | $61,720 | 1.10 | 866 |
| Cincinnati | 13,820 | $60,590 | 0.95 | 698 |
| Cleveland | 11,970 | $58,970 | 0.88 | 768 |
| Akron | 4,740 | $60,210 | 1.12 | 264 |
| Dayton | 4,660 | $59,490 | 0.94 | 204 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial trucking employers in Columbus, the local pool is deeper than most, so a well-run search can usually fill field roles from inside the metro.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Columbus metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Trucking licensing in Ohio.
Ohio's minimum age is 18 for a first-time CDL, and drivers under 21 are restricted to intrastate commercial driving within Ohio; R.C. 4506.05(C) independently bars interstate operation before 21 and R.C. 4506.06 sets 18 for the temporary instruction permit. Ohio prints an explicit K Intrastate Only restriction on both the CDL and the learner's permit. Ohio has a genuinely unusual hazmat rule: R.C. 4506.131(A)(2) allows the registrar to issue a hazardous materials endorsement to a person under 21, but only for intrastate commerce - so an under-21 Ohio driver can lawfully hold an H endorsement, unlike in most states. Ohio uses four self-certification categories, and non-excepted intrastate drivers are subject to Ohio's own state medical requirements under R.C. 4506.10 rather than federal part 391, with Ohio optometrists permitted to perform the visual acuity, field of vision and colour recognition portions. No named Ohio intrastate medical waiver programme could be verified, so confirm any specific condition with the Bureau. The same state rules apply in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton and Akron, so candidates licensed there can work in Columbus without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Ohio Department of Public Safety. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Columbus talent.
The closest metro we cover is Dayton, about 65 miles away, with roughly 4,660 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (0.3 times Columbus's 16,110). Columbus pays more than every metro we cover within reach ($61,720 median), which helps when recruiting people in from Pittsburgh at $57,880. Columbus is the largest market for this work in the region, so nearby metros tend to recruit from here rather than the other way round.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | – | 16,110 | $61,720 |
| Dayton | 65 mi | 4,660 | $59,490 |
| Cincinnati | 99 mi | 13,820 | $60,590 |
| Akron | 110 mi | 4,740 | $60,210 |
| Cleveland | 126 mi | 11,970 | $58,970 |
| Pittsburgh | 162 mi | 14,620 | $57,880 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Columbus crews.
Not commercial trucking work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Columbus in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Meta "Prometheus" data centerMulti-billion, undisclosedCompleting construction in 2026
New Albany campus that will be the world's first data center requiring over 1 gigawatt of power. Massive electrical distribution and mechanical cooling scope, concentrated in a single build.
- QTS Data Centers - New Albany$1.5BFour facilities, phased
Adds to an already-crowded New Albany data-center corridor competing directly with Intel and Meta for the same electrical and mechanical labor pool.
- Capitol Square redevelopment$600M2025-2028
Downtown Columbus mixed-use redevelopment - conventional commercial vertical construction, a counterweight to the New Albany industrial corridor's dominance of the trades conversation.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The Columbus market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial trucking, and what kills offers in Columbus.
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 Columbus a linehaul market or a last-mile one?
Columbus carries 16,110 heavy and tractor-trailer drivers against 7,210 light-truck drivers, 2.2 to one against a 1.8 median, 38th 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.
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 Columbus.
What do heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn in Columbus?
BLS puts the Columbus median for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers at $61,720 a year, 5% above the $58,640 national median. That ranks 17th of 112 metros with published figures, in the top quarter. Most of the market sits between $46,510 and $90,080, a 1.9x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. No other Ohio metro we cover pays more for this work.
Is it hard to hire heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Columbus?
It is about average. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are as common in Columbus as they are nationally (location quotient 1.10), with about 16,110 in the metro. With 63% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which commercial trucking roles pay the most in Columbus?
Of the roles we recruit for, Fleet Manager pays the most in Columbus, a $105,360 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Route / Delivery Supervisor at $62,260, 41% below it. CDL-B Truck Driver is the lowest-paid field role at $43,800. Relative to national pay, CDL-A Truck Driver is the strongest-paying role here (5% above). Logistics Coordinator trails national pay the most (4% below).
How many general freight trucking companies operate in Columbus?
BLS counted 866 general freight trucking companies in Columbus in 2023. Up from 530 in 2018, a 63% 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 Columbus for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Dayton (65 miles, about 4,660, $59,490 median), Cincinnati (99 miles, about 13,820, $60,590 median) and Akron (110 miles, about 4,740, $60,210 median).
The seat is open. The pipeline should not be.
866 general freight trucking companies in Columbus are drawing on the same 16,110 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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