Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary in Sacramento, CA
Median pay for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers in Sacramento, CA: $58,700/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $38,920 – $76,140 · about 10,340 employed locally
Above the typical metro median ($51,330) by +$7,370 (+14%).
What it's really worth in Sacramento
With Sacramento's cost of living at 109 (US=100), that $58,700 has the buying power of about $53,808 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $89,227 · median home $582,707 · median rent $2,283/mo.
How Sacramento ranks for this job
On raw pay, Sacramento, CA is 22nd of the 187 metros we hold heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers wages for. Once Sacramento's cost of living is applied, it ranks 111th.
The headline number flatters Sacramento. 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 Sacramento
A median home in Sacramento, CA costs $582,707 — about 9.9× 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 $2,283/mo works out at 47% 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 Sacramento.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Sacramento | Rent vs Sacramento |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln, NE | $89,760 | +53% | 0.6× |
| Seattle, WA | $63,460 | +8% | 1× |
| San Francisco, CA | $62,750 | +7% | 1.4× |
| San Jose, CA | $62,560 | +7% | 1.6× |
Same job elsewhere in CA
| Metro | Median pay | vs Sacramento | Rent vs Sacramento |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | $62,750 | +7% | 1.4× |
| San Jose, CA | $62,560 | +7% | 1.6× |
| Stockton, CA | $59,060 | +1% | 1.1× |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $58,980 | +0% | 1.2× |
Staying in CA keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Other jobs in Sacramento
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.