Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Average Salary in Delaware
$57,380 average · $57,380 median · BLS OEWS 2025
SOC Code: 53-3032What is this?
This page shows employer-reported wages for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Delaware, drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey — median and mean pay, the full percentile distribution, and the industries that employ this occupation locally. Segment and carrier type dominate: specialized freight and unionized LTL out-earn general long-haul; dedicated local/regional routes trade some pay for home time. Endorsements (hazmat, tanker, doubles) are cheap relative to the wage premium. Detention, mileage vs. hourly pay, and owner-operator economics sit partly outside the employer-reported OEWS figures.
How much do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers make in Delaware?
The average heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers salary in Delaware is $57,380 per year. That works out to about $27.59 per hour on average. BLS counts roughly 9,040 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers jobs in Delaware.
Mean and median are close, so pay is relatively concentrated around $57,380. Entry-level roles (10th percentile) report about $57,380; experienced workers at the 90th percentile report about $57,380 — a 0% spread from bottom to top. Figures are employer-reported wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — not self-reported survey averages — so they are the right baseline for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
How Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Careers Are Structured
Heavy truck drivers move freight in long-haul, regional, and dedicated lanes. The occupation is credential-gated (CDL), structurally in demand, and highly segmented — tanker, flatbed, refrigerated, and hazmat work are different economic lives under one SOC code.
The wage tables and percentile chart on this page show how heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers pay is distributed in Delaware specifically — and because state-level wages for the same occupation routinely differ by 30% or more, the local figures here are the ones that matter for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
What Moves Pay in This Field
Segment and carrier type dominate: specialized freight and unionized LTL out-earn general long-haul; dedicated local/regional routes trade some pay for home time. Endorsements (hazmat, tanker, doubles) are cheap relative to the wage premium. Detention, mileage vs. hourly pay, and owner-operator economics sit partly outside the employer-reported OEWS figures.
CDL training takes weeks and is often employer-funded with a contract. First-year pay and turnover are both harsh; a clean record plus the leverage to choose segment moves drivers up this distribution quickly. Compare local delivery and light-truck pages when weighing home-time against pay.
New to reading wage distributions? Our guide to salary percentiles explains how to place yourself on the chart above, and the negotiation playbook shows how to use these numbers in an actual conversation.
High Demand OccupationBright Outlook
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers is in high demand with strong job growth projected over the next decade.
What Do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Do?
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers positions belong to the heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers field. Heavy truck drivers move freight in long-haul, regional, and dedicated lanes. The occupation is credential-gated (CDL), structurally in demand, and highly segmented — tanker, flatbed, refrigerated, and hazmat work are different economic lives under one SOC code.
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code: 53-3032
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers pay in Delaware
In Delaware, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers report a median of $57,380 (about $27.59/hour) across roughly 9,040 jobs. The local pay band runs from about $57,380 at the 10th percentile to $57,380 at the 90th.
Compared with the national distribution, local industry mix and cost of living are the main reasons Delaware wages for this occupation sit where they do — toggle Regional Price Parity on this page to see purchasing-power-adjusted pay.
What your paycheck is really worth in Delaware
Prices in Delaware run 0% below the national average (RPP 99.8). So a nominal salary of $57,380 has the buying power of about $57,490 in national terms.
Delaware vs. United States for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
The median heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers salary in Delaware is $57,380, which is -3.9% below the national median of $59,710 (mean pay is -3.9% below the U.S. mean of $59,706). Among 51 states and D.C. with OEWS data, Delaware ranks #40 by median wage for this occupation. Delaware accounts for about 0.1% of U.S. heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers employment in the latest OEWS release.
See every state ranked for this occupation on the best-paying states page, or compare purchasing power on real wages.
Income reality check
The median salary for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Delaware of $57,380 falls in the Middle class band of this framework - roughly ~10% of the U.S. population and ~10% of the global population sit in this band.
Illustrative relative standing for education only - this ladder is a simplified framework, not an official Census, BLS, or World Bank statistical series. Salary figures on Wage Atlas come from official BLS OEWS data.
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Official BLS Employment Projections for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
Skills & What You Do
These occupations usually require a high school diploma and a CDL
- Drive trucks to transport goods long distances
- Inspect vehicles for safety
- Follow routes and delivery schedules
- Maintain logs of working hours and mileage
Top Industries for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
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Viewing: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (SOC: 53-3032)