Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,715
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$8,605
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,087
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$49,320
Kept after tax
$40,715
Worth in national money
$46,087
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $49,320, ranking 51 of 51 states — about 15.89% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 484 occupations Louisiana reports figures for, this is number 262.
- Louisiana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $49,320 the take-home is $40,715; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $46,087 would nationally. The average comes to $51,930, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Louisiana ranks 51 of 51 for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, with a median of $49,320 — about 15.89% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- In Louisiana's occupational distribution, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers sits at 262 of 484 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Louisiana, on $49,320, is $40,715 — equivalent to $46,087 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $51,930 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $68,740 |
| This salary | $49,320 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Louisiana | $40,715 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,809 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,063 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $47,959 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,704 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $49,320 as a midpoint for Louisiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,710 and the ninetieth is $68,740 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $40,715 take-home in Louisiana comes from $49,320. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 262 of 484.
- One number stands for prices across all of Louisiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $46,087, the adjusted value of that $49,320 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 262 of 484 in the state.
- The Louisiana median of $49,320 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,710 to $68,740. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $40,715, from $49,320, assumes a single Louisiana filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 262 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 51 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Louisiana, so $46,087 — the adjusted value of that $49,320 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 262 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $51,930, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $36,710 at the tenth percentile, $68,740 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $46,087.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Louisiana's own levy, $40,715 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Louisiana is $51,930. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,710 to $68,740) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $46,087 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $40,715 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.