Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary in Louisville, KY
Median pay for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers in Louisville, KY: $56,260/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $42,310 – $80,780 · about 10,090 employed locally
Above the typical metro median ($51,330) by +$4,930 (+10%).
What it's really worth in Louisville
With Louisville's cost of living at 93 (US=100), that $56,260 has the buying power of about $60,370 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $69,771 · median home $350,000 · median rent $1,500/mo.
How Louisville ranks for this job
On raw pay, Louisville, KY is 50th of the 187 metros we hold heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers wages for. Once Louisville's cost of living is applied, it ranks 19th.
Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Louisville 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 Louisville
A median home in Louisville, KY costs $350,000 — about 6.2× 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 32% 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 Louisville.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Louisville | Rent vs Louisville |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln, NE | $89,760 | +60% | 0.9× |
| Seattle, WA | $63,460 | +13% | 1.5× |
| San Francisco, CA | $62,750 | +12% | 2.2× |
| San Jose, CA | $62,560 | +11% | 2.4× |
Same job elsewhere in KY
| Metro | Median pay | vs Louisville | Rent vs Louisville |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington, KY | $50,870 | −10% | 1× |
Staying in KY keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Who hires heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers around Louisville
Large local employers in sectors that typically employ this role.
- Walmart · Retail
Other jobs in Louisville
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.