Commercial Trucking recruiters serving McAllen.
At a $47,040 median, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in McAllen earn 20% less than nationally; about 4,390 work in the metro. BLS counts 344 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 McAllen.
BLS counts about 7,640 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the McAllen metro, the largest group being heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (about 4,390). Relative to the size of the local economy, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 1.12). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Trucking hub.
CDL-A Truck Driver
Sample job description →McAllen: 4,390 employed · $47,040 median, 111th-highest of 112 metros
CDL-B Truck Driver
Sample job description →McAllen: 1,610 employed · $35,350 median, 112th-highest of 112 metros
Dispatcher / Fleet Coordinator
McAllen: 530 employed · $39,500 median, 110th-highest of 111 metros
Fleet Manager
McAllen: 300 employed · $78,420 median, 112th-highest of 112 metros
Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)
McAllen: 1,610 employed · $69,290 median, 90th-highest of 112 metros
Diesel Mechanic / Fleet Technician
McAllen: 650 employed · $47,500 median, 112th-highest of 112 metros
Logistics Coordinator
McAllen: 190 employed · $44,380 median, 88th-highest of 96 metros
Driver Recruiter
McAllen: 970 employed · $53,600 median, 112th-highest of 112 metros
Terminal Manager
Route / Delivery Supervisor
McAllen: 990 employed · $49,630 median, 112th-highest of 112 metros
What Commercial Trucking roles earn in McAllen.
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in McAllen earn a median $47,040, 20% under the $58,640 national figure, and 111th of 112 metros. Pay runs $31,250 at the tenth percentile to $71,050 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is first-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, at $49,630 against $62,890 nationally.
| Role | McAllen median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDL-A Truck DriverHeavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) | $47,040 | $31,250–$71,050 | $58,640 | −20% | 4,390 |
| CDL-B Truck DriverLight Truck Drivers (53-3033) | $35,350 | $22,720–$80,860 | $44,860 | −21% | 1,610 |
| Dispatcher / Fleet CoordinatorDispatchers (43-5032) | $39,500 | $27,420–$69,620 | $50,340 | −22% | 530 |
| Fleet Manager · Terminal ManagerTransportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (11-3071) | $78,420 | $56,350–$132,510 | $107,230 | −27% | 300 |
| Safety & Compliance Manager (DOT)Compliance Officers (13-1041) | $69,290 | $44,950–$112,260 | $80,730 | −14% | 1,610 |
| Diesel Mechanic / Fleet TechnicianBus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists (49-3031) | $47,500 | $36,980–$68,260 | $61,770 | −23% | 650 |
| Logistics CoordinatorCargo and Freight Agents (43-5011) | $44,380 | $29,590–$58,070 | $52,260 | −15% | 190 |
| Driver RecruiterHuman Resources Specialists (13-1071) | $53,600 | $36,190–$86,900 | $75,940 | −29% | 970 |
| Route / Delivery SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers (53-1047) | $49,630 | $33,290–$76,940 | $62,890 | −21% | 990 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, McAllen 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 McAllen's commercial trucking market has changed since 2018.
The number of general freight trucking companies in McAllen rose from 245 in 2018 to 344 in 2023, up 40%, behind the 49% growth nationally. Headcount at those firms went up 14%, to about 4,026 people. Average annual pay there went from $44,723 to $53,838 (+20%), in step with the 23% national increase.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| General freight trucking companies: business locations | 245 | 344 | +40% |
| General freight trucking companies: employment | 3,520 | 4,026 | +14% |
| General freight trucking companies: average annual pay | $44,723 | $53,838 | +20% |
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
McAllen runs 12% 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 McAllen's commercial trucking market compares
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, McAllen ranks 76th for headcount, 99th for median pay and 36th for concentration for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. Pay here is among the lowest we see, which makes relocation offers from higher-paying metros a real retention risk.
| 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 McAllen, the pool is deep but local employers have been cutting headcount. Experienced people are here, and some will be open to a move, so a clear offer and a defined path up usually beat a higher posted rate.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, McAllen 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, Austin and El Paso, so candidates licensed there can work in McAllen 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.
Nearby markets competing for McAllen talent.
The closest metro we cover is San Antonio, about 225 miles away, with roughly 13,710 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (3.1 times McAllen's 4,390). Austin pays the most nearby, a $57,110 median, 21% above McAllen. That is the number any McAllen offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move. San Antonio has the deepest pool within reach, so a search for senior roles here usually extends there.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| McAllen | – | 4,390 | $47,040 |
| San Antonio | 223 mi | 13,710 | $53,650 |
| Austin | 282 mi | 10,760 | $57,110 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for McAllen crews.
Not commercial trucking work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into McAllen in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- 47-acre industrial park (Anzalduas/Pharr bridges)$6M federal EDA grant (public infrastructure) + ~$34.5M private investment, expected to create nearly 500 jobsConstruction targeted to begin as early as September 2026, ending by February 2027
City-built water, sewer, drainage, and roadway infrastructure for a new industrial park near the international bridges, in a corridor already seeing real cold-storage/refrigerated-warehouse growth (Pharr Produce Park, Mega Produce, CIL Fresh) - industrial refrigeration and process-mechanical work at a scale new to this market.
- McAllen International Airport terminal + runway expansion$225M ($180M terminal + up to $45M runway)Multi-year buildout
90,000 sq ft of new terminal construction, bringing the airport to roughly 238,000 sq ft of gross building area, plus runway expansion - sustained airport-facility construction and MEP demand.
- Driscoll Children's Hospital PICU expansion$9.1M+Opened
A completed, historical example of the healthcare-construction capacity this metro delivers - 15 additional Pediatric Intensive Care Unit beds, bringing PICU capacity to 23 beds and the hospital to 134 beds total.
Showing 3 of 4 projects tracked in this metro. The McAllen market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial trucking, and what kills offers in McAllen.
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 McAllen a linehaul market or a last-mile one?
For every light-truck driver BLS counts in McAllen there are 2.7 heavy and tractor-trailer drivers - 4,390 against 1,610, 13th of 112 on that ratio.
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 McAllen.
What do heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn in McAllen?
BLS puts the McAllen median for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers at $47,040 a year, 20% below the $58,640 national median. That ranks 111th of 112 metros with published figures, in the bottom quarter. Experience carries a clear premium, $31,250 at the 10th percentile against $71,050 at the 90th - a 2.3x gap - so an offer at the median mostly reaches newer workers. Within Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth pays more, at $59,530.
Is it hard to hire heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in McAllen?
It is about average. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are as common in McAllen as they are nationally (location quotient 1.12), with about 4,390 in the metro. The 344 general freight trucking companies here average about 12 employees per location. With 40% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which commercial trucking roles pay the most in McAllen?
Of the roles we recruit for, Fleet Manager pays the most in McAllen, a $78,420 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Route / Delivery Supervisor at $49,630, 37% below it. CDL-B Truck Driver is the lowest-paid field role at $35,350. Driver Recruiter trails national pay the most (29% below).
How many general freight trucking companies operate in McAllen?
BLS counted 344 general freight trucking companies in McAllen in 2023, employing about 4,026 people between them. Up from 245 in 2018, a 40% increase against 49% growth nationally. That averages 12 people per location. They pay an average of $53,838, 18% below the $65,587 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with McAllen for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are San Antonio (223 miles, about 13,710, $53,650 median) and Austin (282 miles, about 10,760, $57,110 median). San Antonio has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. San Antonio pays 14% more, which is where McAllen employers tend to lose people.
The seat is open. The pipeline should not be.
344 general freight trucking companies in McAllen are drawing on the same 4,390 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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