Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary in Brownsville, TX
Median pay for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers in Brownsville, TX: $46,410/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $31,040 – $71,140 · about 1,640 employed locally
Below the typical metro median ($51,330) by −$4,920 (-10%).
What it's really worth in Brownsville
With Brownsville's cost of living at 86 (US=100), that $46,410 has the buying power of about $54,155 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $47,435 · median home $207,150 · median rent $1,460/mo.
How Brownsville ranks for this job
On raw pay, Brownsville, TX is 173rd of the 187 metros we hold heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers wages for. Once Brownsville's cost of living is applied, it ranks 101st.
Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Brownsville is one of the places where heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers gain ground in real terms, because local costs are low relative to what the job pays.
What that salary buys in Brownsville
A median home in Brownsville, TX costs $207,150 — about 4.5× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.
Median rent of $1,460/mo works out at 38% of gross pay — above the conventional 30% affordability ceiling, so renting would stretch this salary.
Where heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers earn more
Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Brownsville.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Brownsville | Rent vs Brownsville |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln, NE | $89,760 | +93% | 0.9× |
| Seattle, WA | $63,460 | +37% | 1.5× |
| San Francisco, CA | $62,750 | +35% | 2.2× |
| San Jose, CA | $62,560 | +35% | 2.5× |
Same job elsewhere in TX
| Metro | Median pay | vs Brownsville | Rent vs Brownsville |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas, TX | $56,420 | +22% | 1.1× |
| Austin, TX | $51,660 | +11% | 1.1× |
| Houston, TX | $50,830 | +10% | 1.1× |
| Amarillo, TX | $49,470 | +7% | 0.9× |
Staying in TX keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Other jobs in Brownsville
Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 187 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.