Across the 29 states we track, Missouri gives Truck Drivers the strongest cost-of-living-adjusted pay: about $61,700 real pay on a median of $57,100. Indiana follows at about $61,100 real pay, then Kentucky at about $60,500. The table ranks every state by real pay, so a high nominal salary in an expensive state cannot masquerade as a raise.
Truck Driver Salary by State (2026): Real Pay Ranked
Missouri ranks first for Truck Driver real pay: about $61,700 after cost of living. Median and real pay for all 29 states, ranked.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS) & BEA Regional Price Parities · Updated October 2026
States ranked
29
Metros counted
45
National average
$55,990
Truck Driver pay by state, ranked by real pay
| State | Median pay | Real pay (COL-adjusted) | Metro(s) counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Missouri | $57,100 | $61,700 | Kansas City |
| 2. Indiana | $58,500 | $61,100 | Indianapolis |
| 3. Kentucky | $56,300 | $60,500 | Louisville |
| 4. Massachusetts | $64,800 | $59,800 | Boston |
| 5. Tennessee | $56,300 | $59,700 | Nashville, Memphis |
| 6. Illinois | $61,100 | $59,000 | Chicago |
| 7. Ohio | $55,900 | $58,500 | Columbus |
| 8. Oregon | $61,600 | $58,400 | Portland |
| 9. Minnesota | $61,100 | $58,300 | Minneapolis |
| 10. Wisconsin | $56,300 | $58,100 | Milwaukee |
| 11. Washington | $63,500 | $57,200 | Seattle |
| 12. Colorado | $59,000 | $57,200 | Denver, Colorado Springs |
| 13. Georgia | $57,200 | $57,100 | Atlanta |
| 14. Nevada | $56,800 | $56,700 | Las Vegas |
| 15. Pennsylvania | $58,000 | $56,500 | Philadelphia |
| 16. Nebraska | $51,800 | $56,400 | Omaha |
| 17. Oklahoma | $50,500 | $56,200 | Oklahoma City, Tulsa |
| 18. Kansas | $49,600 | $55,800 | Wichita |
| 19. New York | $62,200 | $55,200 | New York |
| 20. Michigan | $53,800 | $53,600 | Detroit |
| 21. District of Columbia | $58,000 | $53,300 | Washington |
| 22. Louisiana | $49,100 | $53,000 | New Orleans |
| 23. Maryland | $55,300 | $52,900 | Baltimore |
| 24. California | $58,000 | $52,700 | Los Angeles-Long Beach, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco-Oakland, Fresno, Sacramento |
| 25. North Carolina | $51,400 | $52,600 | Charlotte, Raleigh |
| 26. Texas | $50,800 | $51,900 | Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, El Paso |
| 27. New Mexico | $48,800 | $51,100 | Albuquerque |
| 28. Arizona | $50,000 | $50,000 | Phoenix-Mesa, Tucson |
| 29. Florida | $49,900 | $46,700 | Jacksonville, Miami |
Method: each state aggregates the BLS OEWS metro medians we track for Truck Driver in that state - an employment-weighted mean where every counted metro publishes employment (27 of 29 states), otherwise a simple mean (2 states). Real pay = state median divided by (state RPP / 100), where the state RPP is the mean BEA Regional Price Parity of its counted metros; figures are rounded to the nearest $100. Twin cities sharing one metro estimate (for example Phoenix-Mesa) are counted once. Arlington, TX and Cleveland, OH metros lack a cost-of-living index in our dataset and are excluded from their state's figures. States without a tracked metro are omitted rather than estimated.
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Frequently Asked Questions
On cost-of-living-adjusted pay, Missouri leads at about $61,700 real pay (median $57,100), ahead of Indiana at about $61,100.
We aggregate the BLS median wages of the metros we track in each state (an employment-weighted mean where employment data exists, otherwise a simple average), then divide by the mean Regional Price Parity of those metros to get real pay.
The full city-level table with 10th-90th percentiles and every metro's cost-of-living index is on the Truck Driver salary hub at /salary/truck-driver/.