Commercial Trucking recruiters serving Denver.
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are scarcer in Denver than in most of the country, 33% fewer per job, so the roughly 14,320 who work here are rarely short of offers. BLS counts 881 business locations of general freight trucking companies across the metro. Below: local pay for every role we staff and the state licensing rules that apply.
Positions we recruit for in Denver.
BLS counts about 33,460 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Denver metro, the largest group being heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (about 14,320). Relative to the size of the local economy, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are far less concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 0.67). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Trucking hub.
CDL-A Truck Driver
Sample job description →Denver: 14,320 employed · $63,900 median, 7th-highest of 112 metros
CDL-B Truck Driver
Sample job description →Denver: 9,500 employed · $49,360 median, 9th-highest of 112 metros
Dispatcher / Fleet Coordinator
Denver: 2,000 employed · $55,610 median, 13th-highest of 111 metros
Fleet Manager
Denver: 1,340 employed · $135,220 median, 6th-highest of 112 metros
Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)
Denver: 4,830 employed · $83,580 median, 27th-highest of 112 metros
Diesel Mechanic / Fleet Technician
Denver: 2,770 employed · $72,800 median, 15th-highest of 112 metros
Logistics Coordinator
Denver: 740 employed · $51,390 median, 38th-highest of 96 metros
Driver Recruiter
Denver: 12,520 employed · $82,550 median, 10th-highest of 112 metros
Terminal Manager
Route / Delivery Supervisor
Denver: 6,870 employed · $69,250 median, 11th-highest of 112 metros
Hiring the same trade in another market? We recruit it in Des Moines, IA, Detroit, MI, Durham, NC too.
What Commercial Trucking roles earn in Denver.
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Denver earn a median $63,900, 9% over the $58,640 national figure, and 7th of 112 metros. Pay runs $48,270 at the tenth percentile to $82,620 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists, at $72,800 against $61,770 nationally.
| Role | Denver median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDL-A Truck DriverHeavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) | $63,900 | $48,270–$82,620 | $58,640 | +9% | 14,320 |
| CDL-B Truck DriverLight Truck Drivers (53-3033) | $49,360 | $39,610–$82,250 | $44,860 | +10% | 9,500 |
| Dispatcher / Fleet CoordinatorDispatchers (43-5032) | $55,610 | $44,260–$80,930 | $50,340 | +10% | 2,000 |
| Fleet Manager · Terminal ManagerTransportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (11-3071) | $135,220 | $87,660–$224,400 | $107,230 | +26% | 1,340 |
| Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)Compliance Officers (13-1041) | $83,580 | $60,990–$136,870 | $80,730 | +4% | 4,830 |
| Diesel Mechanic / Fleet TechnicianBus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists (49-3031) | $72,800 | $50,450–$98,130 | $61,770 | +18% | 2,770 |
| Logistics CoordinatorCargo and Freight Agents (43-5011) | $51,390 | $43,940–$72,760 | $52,260 | −2% | 740 |
| Driver RecruiterHuman Resources Specialists (13-1071) | $82,550 | $53,130–$135,870 | $75,940 | +9% | 12,520 |
| Route / Delivery SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers (53-1047) | $69,250 | $50,200–$100,980 | $62,890 | +10% | 6,870 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Denver 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 Denver's commercial trucking market has changed since 2018.
The number of general freight trucking companies in Denver rose from 585 in 2018 to 881 in 2023, up 51%, close to the 49% national change. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Denver, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| General freight trucking companies: business locations | 585 | 881 | +51% |
| General freight trucking companies: employment | 8,116 | – | – |
| General freight trucking companies: average annual pay | $56,175 | – | – |
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
Denver runs 33% 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 Denver's commercial trucking market compares
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Denver ranks 29th for headcount, 7th for median pay and 84th for concentration for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. Pay here is among the highest we see, so offers need to start near the top of the range.
What this means for hiring:For commercial trucking employers in Denver, 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, Denver metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Trucking licensing in Colorado.
Colorado's CDL manual sets 18 as the floor for a commercial learner's permit or CDL, and states that drivers 18 through 20 are issued the K restriction to operate a CDL vehicle only within Colorado. Colorado's intrastate medical relief does not come from the licensing agency: the manual states the K restriction is also used for individuals who do not meet the federal medical requirements but have been issued a waiver from the Colorado State Patrol, so a Colorado driver with a medical problem holds a State Patrol document rather than a Division of Motor Vehicles one - ask for it by name. Vision, Skill Performance Evaluation and diabetic waivers must be submitted with the application. On the licence, K is the intrastate restriction and V means an interstate medical variance.
Licensing authority: Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles. Confirm current rules with the agency.
What else is competing for Denver crews.
Not commercial trucking work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Denver in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Denver International Airport (DEN) - Great Hall + gate expansions$2B+ programMulti-year, ongoing through 2028
Concourse gate additions and the Great Hall renovation drive sustained mechanical, electrical, and specialty finish demand. Phased work means rolling crew needs across trades.
- Aerospace corridor facilities (Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems - formerly Ball Aerospace, acquired Feb 2024)Specialized industrial build-outRolling
Mission-critical and cleanroom-grade construction along the Front Range aerospace corridor pulls the most experienced industrial mechanical and electrical crews out of the general pool.
- National Western Center redevelopment (Denver)$1B+ campus programPhased through late 2020s
Large mixed-use civic/agricultural campus. Steel erection, MEP, and heavy sitework crews in steady demand across multiple building phases.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The Denver market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial trucking, and what kills offers in Denver.
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 Denver a linehaul market or a last-mile one?
Denver carries 14,320 heavy and tractor-trailer drivers against 9,500 light-truck drivers, 1.5 to one against a 1.8 median, 80th of 112 on that ratio.
Concentration is low with it - a 0.67 location quotient, 33% 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 Denver.
What do heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn in Denver?
BLS puts the Denver median for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers at $63,900 a year, 9% above the $58,640 national median. That ranks 7th of 112 metros with published figures, in the top quarter. Most of the market sits between $48,270 and $82,620, a 1.7x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience.
Is it hard to hire heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Denver?
Yes. Denver has 33% fewer heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers per job than the country as a whole, roughly 14,320 in the metro, so most of the people worth hiring are already employed. With 51% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which commercial trucking roles pay the most in Denver?
Of the roles we recruit for, Fleet Manager pays the most in Denver, a $135,220 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Diesel Mechanic / Fleet Technician at $72,800, 46% below it. CDL-B Truck Driver is the lowest-paid field role at $49,360. Relative to national pay, Fleet Manager is the strongest-paying role here (26% above).
How many general freight trucking companies operate in Denver?
BLS counted 881 general freight trucking companies in Denver in 2023. Up from 585 in 2018, a 51% 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.
Can Denver employers recruit heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers from nearby metros?
Not easily. None of the other metros we cover within 300 miles of Denver has published BLS figures for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, so a search here mostly has to be won locally or by relocating someone from farther away.
We have not closed a commercial trucking search in Denver 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 Denver than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Commercial HVAC Service TechnicianA millwright who also runs commercial HVAC - four days to hire.
Thin market. Short list anyway.
With heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers this scarce in Denver, an open seat rarely fills from a job posting. Let's line up the people before the next one opens.
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