Light Truck Drivers in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,945
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$9,205
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,460
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$48,150
Kept after tax
$38,945
Worth in national money
$37,460
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland is one of the better-paying states for light truck drivers. The middle earner takes $48,150, which ranks 6 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 7.33% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Maryland reports figures for, this is number 352.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $48,150 the take-home is $38,945. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $37,460 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $52,930, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maryland ranks 6 of 51 states publishing a median for light truck drivers, at $48,150 — about 7.33% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In Maryland's occupational distribution, light truck drivers sits at 352 of 489 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $38,945 for light truck drivers, from $48,150. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $37,460. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $52,930 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Light Truck Drivers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,700 |
| This salary | $48,150 |
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 Maryland | $38,945 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,869 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,597 |
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 | $45,756 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,559 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of light truck drivers in Maryland earn under $48,150 and half over. The published range runs $33,710 at the tenth percentile to $80,700 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $38,945 take-home in Maryland comes from $48,150. 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 352 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,460 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 352.
- Figures are distribution medians for light truck drivers in Maryland, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,710 to $80,700; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $38,945, from $48,150, assumes a single Maryland 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 352 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 6 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,460, worked from $48,150, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 352 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $52,930, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $33,710, the highest tenth $80,700, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $37,460 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Maryland adds its own income tax on top — which is why $38,945 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Maryland is $52,930. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($33,710) and the ninetieth ($80,700) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $37,460 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $38,945 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.