Commercial Trucking recruiters serving Dallas-Fort Worth.
About 55,670 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers work in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, at a $59,530 median. BLS counts 2,482 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 Dallas-Fort Worth.
BLS counts about 108,990 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, the largest group being heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (about 55,670). Relative to the size of the local economy, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are about as concentrated here as nationally (location quotient 1.04). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Trucking hub.
CDL-A Truck Driver
Sample job description →Dallas-Fort Worth: 55,670 employed · $59,530 median, 45th-highest of 112 metros
CDL-B Truck Driver
Sample job description →Dallas-Fort Worth: 25,890 employed · $44,050 median, 50th-highest of 112 metros
Dispatcher / Fleet Coordinator
Dallas-Fort Worth: 7,170 employed · $48,030 median, 76th-highest of 111 metros
Fleet Manager
Dallas-Fort Worth: 9,600 employed · $104,790 median, 51st-highest of 112 metros
Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)
Dallas-Fort Worth: 12,530 employed · $77,760 median, 52nd-highest of 112 metros
Diesel Mechanic / Fleet Technician
Dallas-Fort Worth: 7,940 employed · $60,390 median, 75th-highest of 112 metros
Logistics Coordinator
Dallas-Fort Worth: 2,570 employed · $48,690 median, 65th-highest of 96 metros
Driver Recruiter
Dallas-Fort Worth: 29,190 employed · $70,700 median, 62nd-highest of 112 metros
Terminal Manager
Route / Delivery Supervisor
Dallas-Fort Worth: 19,490 employed · $60,260 median, 86th-highest of 112 metros
What Commercial Trucking roles earn in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Dallas-Fort Worth earn a median $59,530, level with the $58,640 national figure, and 45th of 112 metros. Pay runs $42,810 at the tenth percentile to $91,990 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists, at $60,390 against $61,770 nationally.
| Role | Dallas-Fort Worth median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDL-A Truck DriverHeavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) | $59,530 | $42,810–$91,990 | $58,640 | +2% | 55,670 |
| CDL-B Truck DriverLight Truck Drivers (53-3033) | $44,050 | $29,480–$83,250 | $44,860 | −2% | 25,890 |
| Dispatcher / Fleet CoordinatorDispatchers (43-5032) | $48,030 | $33,360–$76,890 | $50,340 | −5% | 7,170 |
| Fleet Manager · Terminal ManagerTransportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (11-3071) | $104,790 | $69,780–$195,000 | $107,230 | −2% | 9,600 |
| Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)Compliance Officers (13-1041) | $77,760 | $47,320–$132,830 | $80,730 | −4% | 12,530 |
| Diesel Mechanic / Fleet TechnicianBus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists (49-3031) | $60,390 | $45,730–$81,660 | $61,770 | −2% | 7,940 |
| Logistics CoordinatorCargo and Freight Agents (43-5011) | $48,690 | $38,730–$74,830 | $52,260 | −7% | 2,570 |
| Driver RecruiterHuman Resources Specialists (13-1071) | $70,700 | $39,630–$120,190 | $75,940 | −7% | 29,190 |
| Route / Delivery SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers (53-1047) | $60,260 | $40,010–$94,690 | $62,890 | −4% | 19,490 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Dallas-Fort Worth 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 Dallas-Fort Worth's commercial trucking market has changed since 2018.
The number of general freight trucking companies in Dallas-Fort Worth rose from 1,527 in 2018 to 2,482 in 2023, up 63%, ahead of the 49% national rise. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Dallas-Fort Worth, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| General freight trucking companies: business locations | 1,527 | 2,482 | +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
Dallas-Fort Worth sits at about the national rate for commercial trucking — neither unusually deep nor unusually thin.
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 Dallas-Fort Worth's commercial trucking market compares
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Dallas-Fort Worth ranks 4th for headcount, 42nd for median pay and 43rd 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 Dallas-Fort Worth, the pool is about the national norm for its size, so difficulty depends on the role more than the market.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Dallas-Fort Worth 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 Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen and El Paso, so candidates licensed there can work in Dallas-Fort Worth 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 Dallas-Fort Worth 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 Dallas-Fort Worth than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Apprentice ElectricianA tradesman already in our network for nine months, matched to the right opening and hired within a week.
- Electrical Service ManagerTwenty-five years running electrical service departments, with the national accounts to match.
- Electrical SuperintendentFourteen weeks, and worth it: a superintendent who has run USACE electrical work on a remote Pacific atoll.
Nearby markets competing for Dallas-Fort Worth talent.
The closest metro we cover is Austin, about 180 miles away, with roughly 10,760 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (0.2 times Dallas-Fort Worth's 55,670). Dallas-Fort Worth pays more than every metro we cover within reach ($59,530 median), which helps when recruiting people in from San Antonio at $53,650. Dallas-Fort Worth 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth | – | 55,670 | $59,530 |
| Austin | 182 mi | 10,760 | $57,110 |
| Oklahoma City | 190 mi | 10,170 | $54,720 |
| Houston | 225 mi | 49,750 | $56,840 |
| Tulsa | 237 mi | 7,220 | $58,790 |
| San Antonio | 253 mi | 13,710 | $53,650 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Dallas-Fort Worth crews.
Not commercial trucking work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Dallas-Fort Worth in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- DFW Airport Terminal F$1.6B2024-2027
Heavy mechanical, electrical, and specialty trade demand. Phased construction means rolling crew needs.
- Goldman Sachs Dallas campus$500MOpens 2027
5,000+ permanent jobs, multi-year construction phase driving demand for high-end commercial finish work.
- TxDOT I-635 LBJ East expansion$1.74BSubstantially complete as of mid-2026; only finishing touches (landscaping, sod, paint) remain
A historical example of the heavy civil and paving capacity this metro delivers, not an active current driver at its earlier scale. Operators, foremen, and plant managers were in tightest supply during the main build.
Showing 3 of 5 projects tracked in this metro. The Dallas-Fort Worth market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial trucking, and what kills offers in Dallas-Fort Worth.
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 Dallas-Fort Worth a linehaul market or a last-mile one?
Dallas-Fort Worth carries 55,670 heavy and tractor-trailer drivers against 25,890 light-truck drivers, 2.2 to one against a 1.8 median, 40th 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 Dallas-Fort Worth.
What do heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn in Dallas-Fort Worth?
BLS puts the Dallas-Fort Worth median for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers at $59,530 a year, about the same as the $58,640 national median. That ranks 45th of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Experience carries a clear premium, $42,810 at the 10th percentile against $91,990 at the 90th - a 2.1x gap - so an offer at the median mostly reaches newer workers. No other Texas metro we cover pays more for this work.
Is it hard to hire heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Dallas-Fort Worth?
It is about average. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are as common in Dallas-Fort Worth as they are nationally (location quotient 1.04), with about 55,670 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 Dallas-Fort Worth?
Of the roles we recruit for, Fleet Manager pays the most in Dallas-Fort Worth, a $104,790 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Diesel Mechanic / Fleet Technician at $60,390, 42% below it. CDL-B Truck Driver is the lowest-paid field role at $44,050. Driver Recruiter trails national pay the most (7% below).
How many general freight trucking companies operate in Dallas-Fort Worth?
BLS counted 2,482 general freight trucking companies in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2023. Up from 1,527 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 Dallas-Fort Worth for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Austin (182 miles, about 10,760, $57,110 median), Oklahoma City (190 miles, about 10,170, $54,720 median) and Houston (225 miles, about 49,750, $56,840 median). Dallas-Fort Worth out-pays Oklahoma City, an advantage when recruiting from there.
The seat is open. The pipeline should not be.
2,482 general freight trucking companies in Dallas-Fort Worth are drawing on the same 55,670 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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