One of your drivers is hauling down the interstate, thinking about what snacks they’re going to grab at the next truck stop, when another truck passes them on the left.
It’s a different carrier than yours, one your driver has never heard of, and they can’t help but think… "I wonder if they’re getting better pay than I am?"
Lanefinder has you covered.
In this short data post, we'll be sharing some insights from the Lanefinder app to help you compare your pay to similar jobs in your hiring area. With this data, you'll understand how much to pay your drivers while keeping your jobs competitive and desirable.
"There are a lot of factors that contribute to why a driver chooses one position over another, but pay is consistently the most important variable to drivers when they're making their decision,"
— Jeff Martin, YouCruit's Director of Business Development and transportation software veteran.
If your state / hiring area isn't mentioned and you want to know the pay data in your state, reach out to Lanefinder with a query and we'll send you the specific information you require.
Data specifics
This data is based on 5,419 jobs uploaded to Lanefinder. All of these jobs target company or contract drivers. This data does not represent pay averages for owner operator and lease to purchase positions.
Many positions have wide hiring areas spanning several states. OTR positions often hire across the continental 48 states. Averages for OTR are therefore quite similar across the country. The data presented below represents gross weekly pay.
Note: At the time of writing this post, the vast majority of jobs on Lanefinder hire experienced drivers with 1 - 2 + years of verifiable CDL-A experience. National pay averages for new drivers fresh out of trucking school are therefore likely to be lower than those presented here.
Country wide pay averages
We'll get into state and job type specific details soon, but let's set the stage with some general figures first.
Note: These pay estimates are based on a combination of W2 and 1099 job types.
The data includes both 1099 and W2 positions. Since a significant amount of jobs on Lanefinder are 1099, it is likely that the averages listed above skew towards the higher end of typical W2 salaries.
Based on Lanefinder's data, here are the monthly and yearly average pays for local, regional, and OTR drivers across the country:
- Local - The average local truck driver (with a job found on Lanefinder) makes $4,797 per month or $57,574 per year. All while getting home daily.
- Regional - Staying out a bit longer pays off. Drivers that don't mind getting home weekly average $5,913 per month or $70,956 per year. That's $13,382 more per year than the average local driver.
- OTR - These royals of the road get a pay that reflects their dedication. The average Lanefinder OTR driver makes $6,736 per month or $80,832 per year. That's almost $10,000 more than the average regional driver and $23,382 more than an average local driver. Not to mention, $18,000 more than the average truck driver salary on Indeed.
State specific pay averages
We won't risk boring you by listing the pay averages of each and every state. Instead, we've hand picked a few of the biggest trucking states to give you a picture of how weekly driver pay varies across the country.
Florida
Florida weekly averages for 1099 positions: OTR: $1,750, Regional: $1,450, Local: $1,300 These figures are representative of the national trend of 1099 positions paying $200 - $350 more per week compared to W2 positions.
Texas
Average pay for SOLO W2 positions in the state.
Georgia weekly averages for W2 positions: OTR: $1,400, Regional: $1,310, Local: $1,100
California
Average pay for SOLO W2 positions in the state.
Pennsylvania weekly averages for W2 positions: OTR: $1,400, Regional: $1,350, Local: $1,150
Illinois
Average pay for SOLO W2 positions in the state.
What about team positions?
Team positions on the West Coast pay slightly higher at an average of $3,150 per team compared to Team Positions on the East Coast, which pay an average of $3,050 per team per week.
Recruiters: How do YOUR jobs stack up?
When it comes to getting quality drivers on board, money talks. If your job pays well below the regional average, it doesn't matter what else you have going for you.
So if you've ever wondered "how much should I be paying my truck drivers?" then we hope this post helped you get your bearings. After all we made this post for you to succeed and keep your jobs competitive and exciting — so that your trucks can be the envy of all the other drivers on the road.
If you would like to request more specific stats or details about your hiring area, reach out to us and we'll get back to you.
And if your jobs aren't already on America's largest job platform for truck drivers, sign up today to get your CDL-A & CDL-B jobs listed for free.