Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary in Durham, NC

Median pay for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers in Durham, NC: $51,220/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $37,370 – $74,480 · about 2,130 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($51,330) by −$110 (+0%).

What it's really worth in Durham

With Durham's cost of living at 97 (US=100), that $51,220 has the buying power of about $52,616 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $76,040 · median home $414,340 · median rent $1,703/mo.

Full Durham cost of living & taxes →

How Durham ranks for this job

On raw pay, Durham, NC is 97th of the 187 metros we hold heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers wages for. Once Durham's cost of living is applied, it ranks 128th.

The headline number flatters Durham. Once housing and everyday costs are taken into account, heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers here keep less of what they earn than the raw salary implies.

What that salary buys in Durham

A median home in Durham, NC costs $414,340 — about 8.1× 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 $1,703/mo works out at 40% 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 Durham.

Metro	Median pay	vs Durham	Rent vs Durham
Lincoln, NE	$89,760	+75%	0.8×
Seattle, WA	$63,460	+24%	1.3×
San Francisco, CA	$62,750	+23%	1.9×
San Jose, CA	$62,560	+22%	2.1×

Same job elsewhere in NC

Metro	Median pay	vs Durham	Rent vs Durham
Charlotte, NC	$52,090	+2%	1×
Hickory, NC	$50,600	−1%	0.9×
Greensboro, NC	$49,720	−3%	0.8×
Winston-Salem, NC	$49,610	−3%	0.9×

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

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