The Best Paying Trucking Job Salaries in 2022 by Category [Updated for 2024]
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Reviewed by: Whether you’re new to trucking or a seasoned driver, there are always opportunities to boost your earnings in the industry. The high demand for qualified truck drivers means there are numerous options to explore for the best paying truck driving jobs.
Focusing on high-demand trucking niches and pursuing roles with the greatest earning potential, such as becoming an owner-operator, can significantly increase your income. On average, an OTR owner-operator in the US earns about three times more than a company OTR driver, before expenses.
The ongoing driver shortage provides ample opportunities to choose a trucking career path that suits you. Experience and advanced skills are key to accessing higher-paying positions, while the markets you serve and the risks you take also impact your compensation.
This article will first look at the qualifications needed to demand higher wages and then at the 13 best paying truck driving jobs in 2024.
How to Qualify For The Best Paying Truck Driving Jobs
To secure a truck driving job, you need a commercial driver’s license (CDL). For those hauling dry vans or reefers, experience is crucial. Trucking companies typically prefer drivers with 5+ years of experience and a clean driving record. New drivers should focus on gaining experience and honing their skills to qualify for the best paying truck driving jobs.
To land the best paying truck driving jobs, you need more than experience on the road – you also need an advanced set of skills. Following are some of the critical skills and attributes that higher-earning truck drivers have:
Niche Skillset – Operators that acquire a specialty skillset within a niche market are best-positioned to get the best paying truck driving jobs. For instance, flatbed haulers that specialize in hauling steel demand a much higher rate than dry van operators hauling general freight.
Willingness to accept more liability – The hauling of complex or dangerous cargo comes with greater risk. With greater risk comes more liability. With more liability comes greater pay.
Accident/incident free – A clean driving record keeps your options open.
Working in remote areas – Some of the best paying truck driving jobs demand working in a remote or sparsely populated area. High demand and low supply are a recipe for higher earnings.
Business-minded – The highest earners in trucking are business-minded, have an entrepreneurial spirit, and are willing to become owner operators. It’s a competitive industry. Use specialized support services, like industry experienced accountants and specialized transportation financing companies, to help you manage cash flow and thrive.
In addition to the above-listed skills, high-earning truck drivers generally operate certain commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) and haul specialty loads that require additional endorsements added to your CDL. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association describes a detailed set of commercial drivers’ licenses (CDLs) and the additional endorsements needed to operate particular types of CMVs.
Getting an endorsement is not difficult, as long as you study and pass a short multiple-choice test at the DMV. The more CDL endorsements you obtain, the more job flexibility you have. Don’t limit your career – allow as many career options as possible, then go after the best paying truck driving jobs available.
The 13 Highest Paying Truck Driver Jobs in 2024
The best paying truck driving jobs are often in niche markets, requiring specialized equipment, training, and CDL endorsements. With these qualifications, drivers can command above-average wages.
The top earning potential in trucking comes from becoming an owner operator. This role allows you to control your loads, rates, and schedule, leading to higher earnings. However, gaining experience, skills and networking with industry experts, such as leading transportation financing specialists to manage cash flow is essential before transitioning to owner-operator status.
Here are the 13 best paying truck driver jobs for 2024, with average annual salaries for company drivers. Independent owner-operators can potentially earn significantly more.
- Oversized Load Driver
In general, oversized loads are wider than 8 feet 6 inches or taller than 13 feet 6 inches. These loads cannot be broken down into smaller segments. If the load weighs 250,000 pounds or more, it’s a super load.
You’ll need a ton of experience to be an oversize load driver. Some companies require as much as ten years of experience. Most new operators do not start as oversized load drivers due to the role’s complexity and required knowledge.
The average annual salary for oversized load truckers is $96,532, but the salary range can start at $35,000 with the best paying truck driving jobs offering up to $167,000.
- Team Drivers
According to the FMCSA, truck drivers may drive a maximum of 11 hours after ten consecutive hours off duty. The team driver concept allows the drivers to adhere to these regulations while maximizing miles driven in the shortest time. A solo truck driver who drives the maximum allotted time must then stop to rest. Rather than stopping to rest, a team of two or more operators alternate driving so that one driver can rest while the other keeps the rig in motion. The goal is to travel as many miles as possible by driving all day and night. Because of this efficiency, teams usually earn more money than solo operators. Despite their pay being split, team drivers can earn good wages.
The national average salary for team truck drivers is $90,312. Team truck drivers can start at $50,000 with the best paying truck driving jobs offering up to $151,000.
- Crude Oil Driver Driver
A crude oil driver’s primary responsibility is transporting crude between an oilfield and a destin ation, such as a depot, rail station, or refinery. Duties may include testing and sampling the oil to verify its quality, helping to load and unload, and transporting additional paperwork to each destination.
The average annual salary for crude oil driver is $87,249 but ranges from $43,000 with the best paying truck driving jobs offering up to $129,000.
- Regional Truck Driver
Regional truck drivers deliver freight throughout their region. This category of driver usually runs a dry van or reefer trailer. Regional truck drivers do not drive long hauls. Instead, they drive assigned routes in and around neighboring states and provinces, taking multiple loads daily and typically coming home every night.
The average annual pay for a regional truck driver is $75,877, but the salary range varies considerably, from $39,500 to the best paying truck driving jobs offering up to $99,500.
- Line Haul Driver
A local owner operator truck driver transports cargo around the city or locale in which they operate. These drivers specialize in transporting freight over a shorter distance, often picking and delivering multiple loads daily. Typically, local truck drivers complete their routes and make it home at the end of their day.
The average annual pay for a line haul truck driver is $71,951 but varies considerably, from $49,895 to the best paying truck driving jobs offering up to $92,354.
- Flatbed Hauler Driver
Flatbed haulers transport a wide range of cargo, including raw materials, vehicles, machinery, and military equipment, often over long distances and across borders. Due to the irregular shape and size of the loads, flatbed hauling is riskier and requires specialized skills to secure cargo. As a result, flatbed haulers typically earn more than dry van drivers, making it one of the best paying truck driving jobs.
The average flatbed truck driver salary in the USA is $66,853 per year. Entry level positions start at $52,000 per year while the best paying truck driving jobs in this category can be up to $93,840 per year.
- Reefer Driver Owner Operator
Reefer drivers haul refrigerated, temperature-sensitive, or frozen goods in a reefer trailer. Because of the critical nature of temperature control to preserve goods while in transit, these operators need to be excellent decision-makers and problem solvers. A breakdown can mean losing a load. Therefore, drivers must have quick, sound judgment to overcome unexpected challenges on the road.
The average Reefer Driver salary in the United States is $61,946 as of June 27, 2024, but the salary range can start at $43,975 with the best paying truck driving jobs offering up to $71,068.
- Liquid/Tanker Driver
Tanker drivers haul liquids — anything from fuel to milk. These specialized drivers need advanced driving skills due to the changing load balance of fluid in motion. Incorrect braking can cause the liquid’s momentum inside the tank to push the truck forward. Aggressive maneuvering can create side-to-side liquid surges, which can result in rollovers. Tanker pay is usually higher since hauling liquids is potentially dangerous.
A tanker truck driver makes on average $59,556 annually, but the range can start from $36,000 with the best paying truck driving jobs offering up to $94,000 per year.
- Water Hauler Driver
An oil and gas drilling operation produces large amounts of salt water and other waste by-products, which must be removed and properly disposed of. Large vacuum-equipped tanker trucks are used to transport the waste fluids away from drill sites to regulated and approved disposal sites. Water haulers are required to be somewhat physically active during a workday.
Outside of the oil & gas industry, water truck haulers can also work in the construction industry, providing moisture for road surfacing projects.
According to Talent.com, the average annual salary for Water haul driver is $49,355 but ranges from $41,600 with the best paying truck driving jobs offering up to $72,000.
- Local Truck Driver Driver
A local owner operator truck driver transports cargo around the city or locale in which they operate. These drivers specialize in transporting freight over a shorter distance, often picking and delivering multiple loads daily. Typically, local truck drivers complete their routes and make it home at the end of their day.
The average Local Truck Driver salary in the United States is $44,829 as of June 27, 2024, but the salary range can start at $39,463 with the best paying truck driving jobs offering up to $50,954.
- Box Truck Driver
Box truck drivers are in high demand due to the massive increase in freight volume for last-mile deliveries. A box truck, including the cab and cargo bay, is usually 4 to 7 meters long. While these trucks are not semi-trailer trucks, they can be used to hitch additional cargo.
The average box truck driver salary in the USA is $39,940 per year. Entry level positions start at $35,100 per year while the best paying truck driving jobs offer up to $53,423 per year.
- Local Hazmat Driver
Hazmat drivers are professionals who transport corrosive, explosive, flammable, poisonous, or other dangerous materials. They can use their expertise to review the labeling and storage of hazardous chemicals and ensure their stability during transport. Hazmat drivers can also dispose of toxic waste in line with legal and industry standards. The job is dangerous, as you are transporting toxic materials, but the pay is high, and hazmat drivers are in high demand.
The national average salary for hazmat truck drivers is $61,068. The salary range for this category starts at $36,000 with the best paying truck driving jobs offering up to $105,500 per year.
- Private Fleet/Company Haulers
A private fleet is an in-house team of trucks and operators primarily used to transport a company’s goods to warehouses, stores, and customers. Private trucking fleets often pay truckers more, but their standards for hiring drivers are also higher. They may seek out drivers with more experience and a higher skill level than the average dry freight driver.
Here is a short list of the ten best-paying trucking companies in 2024, according to ATS.com. Note that the type of truck driver and your experience level can drastically change your base compensation rate.
The average annual salary range of a fleet driver $29,992, but ranges from $18,000 with the best paying truck driving jobs offering up to $43,500.
Conclusion
The most significant opportunity to capitalize on high-paying trucking jobs is to specialize in a niche market as an independent owner operator.
Starting a trucking business can be highly profitable for those who understand the industry. To succeed as an independent owner-operator, you need both driving expertise and business acumen.
Support services like industry experienced accountants and specialized transportation financing companies can help you thrive. Industry-leading freight factoring companies offer more than just cash flow solutions to keep your business moving forward. They also provide load acquisition services, discount fuel programs, advice, and more.
Key Takeaways
- The high demand for qualified truck drivers means there are numerous options to explore for the best paying truck driving jobs.
- Learn what are some of the critical skills and attributes that higher-earning truck drivers need to have.
- This article lists thirteen of the best paying truck driving jobs in 2024.
- The most significant opportunity to capitalize on high-paying trucking jobs is to specialize in a niche market as an independent owner operator.
- Specialized support services can help you operate your own successful trucking company as an owner operator.
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Ken Judd
Ken is the Chief Executive Officer of eCapital Freight Factoring. In this capacity, he leads the transformation of eCapital’s overall corporate strategies into operating goals and strategies for the organization’s freight factoring interests across North America. He has exceptional experience within the transportation industry and leverages this knowledge to guide working capital solutions that align with the unique demands of the transportation sector.
Ken has over 40 years of hands-on experience, both on the fleet operations side as well as leadership on the service side. Ken led the evolution of the division into a top freight factoring provider in the transportation sector, and over a short period of time, transformed the organization into a well-positioned fighter brand in the $900 billion US market.