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Truck drivers (CDL) in Iowa: what they earn

Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Iowa earned a median $58,070 a year in May 2025, $27.92 an hour. 35,040 people held the job, 22.5 for every 1,000 jobs in the state. That median is 1% below the national figure of $58,640, and Iowa ranks 33 of 51 by pay for this trade.

Median annual
$58,070
$27.92 an hour
Rank by pay
#33
of 51 states and DC
Employed in IA
35,040
22.5 per 1,000 jobs
Location quotient
1.69
1.00 = national concentration

The full wage spread in Iowa

PointHourlyAnnualMeaning
10th percentile$20.38$42,390A tenth of the workforce earns less than this.
25th percentile$23.25$48,350A quarter earn less.
Median$27.92$58,070Half earn less, half earn more.
75th percentile$30.86$64,190A quarter earn more.
90th percentile$37.46$77,910A tenth earn more than this.
Mean$28.88$60,070The average. Pulled up by the top earners.

Annual figures are the hourly rate times 2,080 hours, BLS's full-time year. Overtime is inside the survey's earnings but not separated out.

Iowa against its neighbors on the pay ladder

#StateMedian annualEmployed
30 Pennsylvania $58,580 87,550
31 Nebraska $58,390 23,160
32 Arizona $58,080 40,150
33 Iowa $58,070 35,040
34 Delaware $57,590 9,040
35 Michigan $57,180 60,800
36 Georgia $57,050 74,840

The complete ranking is on the Truck drivers (CDL) page.

Against the national figure

IowaUnited States
Median annual$58,070$58,640
Median hourly$27.92$28.19
10th percentile, annual$42,390$40,140
90th percentile, annual$77,910$79,380
Employed35,0402,062,040

Other trades in Iowa

Electricians ($60,860) · Plumbers and pipefitters ($63,890) · HVAC technicians ($60,680) · Welders ($55,090)

See all five ranked by pay in Iowa.

Licensing requirements, apprenticeship pay and the time it takes to reach journeyman in Iowa are being collected from the state authority and will appear here once sourced and cited. Numbers on this page are the May 2025 BLS estimates; see how the numbers are built.