Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,297
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$12,693
20.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,090
Minnesota costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Minnesota — 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
$61,990
Kept after tax
$49,297
Worth in national money
$50,090
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Minnesota's middle earner gets $61,990, putting the state 8 of 51 — about 5.71% ahead of the national figure.
- Against other work in Minnesota, this sits in the middle: 266 of 490 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- No great distortion either way. Minnesota costs about what the country costs, so from $61,990, take-home of $49,297 is worth roughly $50,090 in national money. The average comes to $63,630, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, Minnesota sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $61,990, ranking 8 of 51 and running about 5.71% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers ranks 266 of 490 occupations in Minnesota by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Price parity in Minnesota is near the national base, so for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, whose median is $61,990, the adjusted figure of $50,090 differs little from $49,297 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $63,630 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,830 |
| This salary | $61,990 |
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 Minnesota | $49,297 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,989 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,410 |
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 | $58,640 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,125 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Minnesota earn less than $61,990. The published range is $45,910 up to $81,830, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Minnesota the take-home figure of $49,297, from $61,990, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 266 of 490 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $50,090 uses one figure for the whole of Minnesota. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 490 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 266.
- Reported values are medians; for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Minnesota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $45,910 to $81,830. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Minnesota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $49,297 from $61,990. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 266 of 490 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $50,090, worked from $61,990, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Minnesota address, on work sitting at 266 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $45,910 and the top tenth $81,830, so most people doing this work in Minnesota sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $50,090.
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 Minnesota's own levy, $49,297 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 ($45,910 to $81,830) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Minnesota rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Minnesota'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 $50,090 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 $49,297 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Minnesota 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.