Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary in San Jose, CA

Median pay for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers in San Jose, CA: $62,560/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $45,570 – $88,040 · about 5,300 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($51,330) by +$11,230 (+22%).

What it's really worth in San Jose

With San Jose's cost of living at 113 (US=100), that $62,560 has the buying power of about $55,334 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $151,713 · median home $1,610,466 · median rent $3,625/mo.

Full San Jose cost of living & taxes →

How San Jose ranks for this job

On raw pay, San Jose, CA is 4th of the 187 metros we hold heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers wages for. Once San Jose's cost of living is applied, it ranks 77th.

The headline number flatters San Jose. 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 San Jose

A median home in San Jose, CA costs $1,610,466 — about 25.7× 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 $3,625/mo works out at 70% 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 San Jose.

Metro	Median pay	vs San Jose	Rent vs San Jose
Lincoln, NE	$89,760	+43%	0.4×
Seattle, WA	$63,460	+1%	0.6×
San Francisco, CA	$62,750	+0%	0.9×
Anchorage, AK	$62,360	+0%	0.5×

Same job elsewhere in CA

Metro	Median pay	vs San Jose	Rent vs San Jose
San Francisco, CA	$62,750	+0%	0.9×
Stockton, CA	$59,060	−6%	0.7×
Santa Rosa, CA	$58,980	−6%	0.7×
Sacramento, CA	$58,700	−6%	0.6×

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

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