Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary in Detroit, MI

Median pay for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers in Detroit, MI: $53,770/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $36,250 – $70,500 · about 26,060 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($51,330) by +$2,440 (+5%).

What it's really worth in Detroit

With Detroit's cost of living at 98 (US=100), that $53,770 has the buying power of about $54,763 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $72,456 · median home $269,080 · median rent $1,500/mo.

Full Detroit cost of living & taxes →

How Detroit ranks for this job

On raw pay, Detroit, MI is 81st of the 187 metros we hold heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers wages for. Once Detroit's cost of living is applied, it ranks 89th.

Pay and living costs are roughly in step here, so Detroit sits in much the same place whether you look at raw salary or spending power.

What that salary buys in Detroit

A median home in Detroit, MI costs $269,080 — about 5× 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 $1,500/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 Detroit.

Metro	Median pay	vs Detroit	Rent vs Detroit
Lincoln, NE	$89,760	+67%	0.9×
Seattle, WA	$63,460	+18%	1.5×
San Francisco, CA	$62,750	+17%	2.2×
San Jose, CA	$62,560	+16%	2.4×

Same job elsewhere in MI

Metro	Median pay	vs Detroit	Rent vs Detroit
Ann Arbor, MI	$52,930	−2%	1.4×
Lansing, MI	$52,930	−2%	0.8×
Grand Rapids, MI	$50,060	−7%	1.1×
Kalamazoo, MI	$49,480	−8%	0.9×

Staying in MI keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

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