Alaska, Washington and New Jersey pay truck drivers the most, while Louisiana, West Virginia and New Mexico pay the least. The national average for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers is about $59,710 a year, but the gap between the top and bottom states runs close to $18,000. Here is the full picture, using 2025 wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, along with the catch that a bigger number does not always mean more money in your pocket.
Key Takeaways
- The top-paying state, Alaska, averages about $69,520 a year for truck drivers; the lowest, Louisiana, averages about $51,930.
- The national average is about $59,710, or roughly $29 an hour.
- High-paying states also tend to have a high cost of living, so buying power evens out more than the raw numbers suggest.
- Pay ranges are wide everywhere. Even in lower-paying states, top earners clear $70,000 or more.
- Endorsements, specialized freight, and going owner-operator move you up the range faster than moving states.
The 10 highest-paying states for truck drivers
These are the states where heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn the most on average, from BLS 2025 data. The range column shows what the lowest-paid 10 percent and the highest-paid 10 percent earn.
| Rank | State | Average / year | Range (10th–90th) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $69,520 | $48,080–$90,610 |
| 2 | Washington | $68,230 | $50,010–$87,500 |
| 3 | District of Columbia | $67,710 | $51,500–$84,000 |
| 4 | New Jersey | $66,770 | $47,950–$90,310 |
| 5 | New York | $65,780 | $47,880–$88,100 |
| 6 | Nevada | $65,010 | $45,860–$83,090 |
| 7 | Oregon | $64,080 | $47,700–$81,220 |
| 8 | Colorado | $63,650 | $47,010–$80,570 |
| 9 | Minnesota | $63,630 | $45,910–$81,830 |
| 10 | Massachusetts | $63,570 | $47,080–$78,480 |
A few patterns jump out. The leaders are either expensive coastal and northern states or places with tough driving conditions and strong freight demand. Alaska pays a premium for the weather, the distances, and the difficulty of keeping freight moving. Washington, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts pay well partly because everything costs more there, and wages have to keep pace.
The 10 lowest-paying states for truck drivers
At the other end, these states post the lowest average pay. Note that the ranges still reach into the $70,000s for top earners, so a skilled driver is not capped at the state average.
| Rank | State | Average / year | Range (10th–90th) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | Michigan | $56,370 | $40,280–$73,980 |
| 43 | Alabama | $56,230 | $38,240–$77,620 |
| 44 | Maine | $55,980 | $40,810–$71,100 |
| 45 | Mississippi | $55,910 | $35,710–$79,550 |
| 46 | North Carolina | $55,810 | $39,400–$76,360 |
| 47 | South Carolina | $55,680 | $39,330–$77,070 |
| 48 | Florida | $54,850 | $37,700–$74,330 |
| 49 | New Mexico | $53,100 | $38,540–$65,990 |
| 50 | West Virginia | $52,440 | $36,350–$72,230 |
| 51 | Louisiana | $51,930 | $36,710–$68,740 |
Most of the lowest-paying states are in the South and share a lower cost of living. Florida is a good example of the cost-of-living trade-off in action: pay sits near the bottom, but there is no state income tax, so the take-home picture is better than the ranking alone implies.
Why the highest number is not always the best deal
It is tempting to look at Alaska or Washington, see the biggest paycheck, and assume that is where to go. But pay only tells half the story. The other half is what that money buys.
Consider two drivers earning their state average:
| Factor | High-pay state (e.g. Washington) | Low-pay state (e.g. Tennessee) |
|---|---|---|
| Average pay | Higher | Lower |
| Housing cost | Much higher | Much lower |
| Fuel and daily costs | Higher | Lower |
| State income tax | Varies, often higher | Sometimes none |
| Buying power | Can be lower than it looks | Can stretch further |
A $63,000 wage in an expensive metro can leave you with less at the end of the month than a $56,000 wage in a low-cost state with no income tax. When you compare offers across states, run the pay against local rent, fuel, and taxes, not against the headline number.
This is company-driver pay, not owner-operator pay
Every figure here is for employee drivers, the W-2 wage a company pays. Owner-operators play a completely different game. They gross far more, often $150,000 to $250,000 or more a year in revenue, but that is before the truck payment, fuel, insurance, maintenance, permits, and taxes come out. After all of it, many owner-operators net somewhere in the $50,000 to $100,000 range, with big swings based on rates, miles, and how tightly they run the business.
If you own the truck, your state’s salary average is close to meaningless. What matters is your cost per mile and the rates you can book. Find your real number with the cost per mile calculator, then see what actually lands in your pocket with the take-home pay calculator.
How to earn more than your state average
Wherever you drive, the same levers push you up the pay range toward that 90th-percentile number:
- Endorsements. Hazmat, tanker, and doubles/triples unlock freight most drivers cannot legally haul, and it pays more.
- Specialized freight. Flatbed, reefer, tanker, and oversize/heavy-haul generally pay more per mile than dry van.
- Bonuses. Sign-on, safety, referral, and performance bonuses add up, especially in a tight driver market.
- Detention and accessorial pay. Getting paid for waiting, extra stops, and tarping keeps the low-productivity hours from being free.
- Dedicated and regional lanes. Steady, higher-paying runs that often get you home more.
- Ownership. Becoming an owner-operator is the biggest upside and the biggest risk.
The bottom line
The best-paying states for truck drivers in 2025 are Alaska, Washington, and the District of Columbia; the lowest are Louisiana, West Virginia, and New Mexico. But the smart move is not simply chasing the biggest number. Weigh pay against cost of living, look at the full range rather than the average, and remember that your endorsements, your freight type, and whether you own the truck move your income far more than your ZIP code does. To see the numbers for your own state, browse the full truck driver salary by state ranking.