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Truck drivers (CDL) in Wisconsin: what they earn

Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Wisconsin earned a median $58,610 a year in May 2025, $28.18 an hour. 53,330 people held the job, 18.1 for every 1,000 jobs in the state. That median is about the same as the national figure of $58,640, and Wisconsin ranks 29 of 51 by pay for this trade.

Median annual
$58,610
$28.18 an hour
Rank by pay
#29
of 51 states and DC
Employed in WI
53,330
18.1 per 1,000 jobs
Location quotient
1.37
1.00 = national concentration

The full wage spread in Wisconsin

PointHourlyAnnualMeaning
10th percentile$21.59$44,920A tenth of the workforce earns less than this.
25th percentile$23.75$49,400A quarter earn less.
Median$28.18$58,610Half earn less, half earn more.
75th percentile$30.71$63,870A quarter earn more.
90th percentile$36.72$76,380A tenth earn more than this.
Mean$28.31$58,890The 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.

Wisconsin against its neighbors on the pay ladder

#StateMedian annualEmployed
26 Idaho $58,770 15,920
27 South Dakota $58,690 6,470
28 Tennessee $58,620 64,890
29 Wisconsin $58,610 53,330
30 Pennsylvania $58,580 87,550
31 Nebraska $58,390 23,160
32 Arizona $58,080 40,150

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

Against the national figure

WisconsinUnited States
Median annual$58,610$58,640
Median hourly$28.18$28.19
10th percentile, annual$44,920$40,140
90th percentile, annual$76,380$79,380
Employed53,3302,062,040

Other trades in Wisconsin

Electricians ($76,540) · Plumbers and pipefitters ($81,210) · HVAC technicians ($61,710) · Welders ($58,410)

See all five ranked by pay in Wisconsin.

Licensing requirements, apprenticeship pay and the time it takes to reach journeyman in Wisconsin 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.