Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Salary in Denver, CO (2024)
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area earn a median of $62,880 per year ($30.23 per hour) based on 15,420 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +9.5% against the national median of $57,440 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers actually sit across the pay range in Denver, CO, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $22.53 | $46,870 | |
| 25th percentile | $27.44 | $57,070 | |
| Median | $30.23 | $62,880 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $34.72 | $72,210 | |
| 90th percentile | $39.21 | $81,560 | |
| Average (mean) | $31.15 | $64,790 |
How Denver, CO compares
The local median of $62,880 runs +9.5% above the US median of $57,440 for this occupation; it pays 2.9% more than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($61,110); within the metro it ranks 315th of 635 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Denver, CO — this occupation | $62,880 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $57,440 | +9.5% |
| Denver, CO — all occupations | $61,110 | +2.9% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $69,290 | -9.3% |
A location quotient of 0.71 sits slightly below the national average, meaning the occupation accounts for a smaller share of local employment than it does across the US.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 0.9%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 315th of 635 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Denver, CO
To put $62,880 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 315th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | $211,860 | 5,540 |
| Nurse Anesthetists | $207,120 | 220 |
| Chief Executives | $206,990 | — |
| Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates | $193,000 | 310 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $183,050 | 8,510 |
| Pediatricians, General | $182,320 | 280 |
| Lawyers | $180,940 | 12,590 |
| Financial Managers | $177,470 | 8,190 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $177,340 | 2,600 |
| Sales Managers | $176,620 | 6,580 |
Where heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $49,320 to $69,290. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $69,290 | 21,220 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $65,220 | 64,440 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $64,210 | 16,870 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $63,500 | 14,460 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $63,170 | 19,770 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $62,880 | 15,420 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $62,430 | 54,680 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $61,530 | 20,220 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $60,680 | 42,710 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $60,000 | 29,090 |
See the full national picture on the Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Denver, CO?
The median annual wage is $62,880, or $30 per hour. That means half of the heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers working in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $64,790.
What do the highest and lowest paid heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Denver, CO earn?
The bottom 10% earn $46,870 or less, while the top 10% earn $81,560 or more — a spread of $34,690 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $57,070 and $72,210.
Is heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers pay in Denver, CO above the local average?
Yes, it is 2.9% above the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $61,110. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does Denver, CO pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $62,880 the metro median is 9.5% higher than the US median of $57,440 for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $49,320 to $69,290.
How many heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers work in Denver, CO?
BLS counts about 15,420 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 9.53 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. A location quotient of 0.71 sits slightly below the national average, meaning the occupation accounts for a smaller share of local employment than it does across the US.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 3.8%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.