Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary in Los Angeles, CA
Median pay for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers in Los Angeles, CA: $57,610/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $38,090 – $78,120 · about 58,950 employed locally
Above the typical metro median ($51,330) by +$6,280 (+12%).
What it's really worth in Los Angeles
With Los Angeles's cost of living at 115 (US=100), that $57,610 has the buying power of about $50,205 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $89,105 · median home $968,608 · median rent $2,909/mo.
How Los Angeles ranks for this job
On raw pay, Los Angeles, CA is 37th of the 187 metros we hold heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers wages for. Once Los Angeles's cost of living is applied, it ranks 157th.
The headline number flatters Los Angeles. 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 Los Angeles
A median home in Los Angeles, CA costs $968,608 — about 16.8× 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 $2,909/mo works out at 61% 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 Los Angeles.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Los Angeles | Rent vs Los Angeles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln, NE | $89,760 | +56% | 0.5× |
| Seattle, WA | $63,460 | +10% | 0.8× |
| San Francisco, CA | $62,750 | +9% | 1.1× |
| San Jose, CA | $62,560 | +9% | 1.2× |
Same job elsewhere in CA
| Metro | Median pay | vs Los Angeles | Rent vs Los Angeles |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | $62,750 | +9% | 1.1× |
| San Jose, CA | $62,560 | +9% | 1.2× |
| Stockton, CA | $59,060 | +3% | 0.8× |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $58,980 | +2% | 0.9× |
Staying in CA keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Other jobs in Los Angeles
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.