Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,489
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$11,561
20.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,849
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$57,050
Kept after tax
$45,489
Worth in national money
$46,849
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maine is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $57,050, ranking 37 of 51 states — about 2.71% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 269 among 484 occupations Maine publishes pay for.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $57,050 the take-home is $45,489, which is worth about $46,849 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $55,980, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Maine ranks 37 of 51 for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, with a median of $57,050 — about 2.71% 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.
- Position 269 of 484 in Maine places heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Maine's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers on its $57,050 median: $45,489 retained after tax becomes $46,849 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $55,980 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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 | $40,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,050 |
| Top tenth earn over | $71,100 |
| This salary | $57,050 |
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 Maine | $45,489 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,020 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,567 |
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 | $53,900 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,104 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maine earn less than $57,050. The published range is $40,810 up to $71,100, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $45,489 take-home in Maine comes from $57,050. 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 269 of 484.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maine, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $46,849, the adjusted value of that $57,050 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 269 of 484 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Maine the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $40,810 to $71,100. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $45,489, from $57,050, assumes a single Maine 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 269 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 37 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maine, so $46,849 — the adjusted value of that $57,050 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 269 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $40,810 at the tenth percentile, $71,100 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 $46,849.
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 Maine's own levy, $45,489 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($40,810 to $71,100) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $46,849 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 $45,489 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.