Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary in Columbus, OH
Median pay for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers in Columbus, OH: $55,860/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $39,480 – $78,690 · about 17,680 employed locally
Above the typical metro median ($51,330) by +$4,530 (+9%).
What it's really worth in Columbus
With Columbus's cost of living at 95 (US=100), that $55,860 has the buying power of about $59,030 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $76,541 · median home $333,537 · median rent $1,524/mo.
How Columbus ranks for this job
On raw pay, Columbus, OH is 59th of the 187 metros we hold heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers wages for. Once Columbus's cost of living is applied, it ranks 29th.
Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Columbus 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 Columbus
A median home in Columbus, OH costs $333,537 — about 6× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is harder here than in the average metro on this income.
Median rent of $1,524/mo works out at 33% 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 Columbus.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Columbus | Rent vs Columbus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln, NE | $89,760 | +61% | 0.9× |
| Seattle, WA | $63,460 | +14% | 1.5× |
| San Francisco, CA | $62,750 | +12% | 2.1× |
| San Jose, CA | $62,560 | +12% | 2.4× |
Same job elsewhere in OH
| Metro | Median pay | vs Columbus | Rent vs Columbus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati, OH | $56,050 | +0% | 1× |
| Akron, OH | $55,110 | −1% | 0.8× |
| Cleveland, OH | $55,030 | −1% | 1× |
| Toledo, OH | $54,680 | −2% | 0.9× |
Staying in OH keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Other jobs in Columbus
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.