Light Truck Drivers in Vermont
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,156
after federal, FICA and Vermont tax
Tax takes
$7,934
17.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,449
Vermont costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Vermont — 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
$45,090
Kept after tax
$37,156
Worth in national money
$38,449
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Vermont sits in the middle of the pack for light truck drivers. The median is $45,090, ranking 22 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Vermont, this one sits low: 388 of 453 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Vermont does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,090 you keep $37,156, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $38,449 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $48,430, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Vermont occupies the middle band for light truck drivers: a median of $45,090, ranking 22 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Light truck drivers occupies position 388 of 453 in Vermont's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Vermont income tax, retained pay for light truck drivers on $45,090 is $37,156. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $38,449 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $48,430 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Light Truck Drivers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,090 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,130 |
| This salary | $45,090 |
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 Vermont | $37,156 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,410 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,077 |
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 | $43,529 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,303 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
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 Vermont earn under $45,090 and half over. The published range runs $30,720 at the tenth percentile to $65,130 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $37,156 take-home in Vermont comes from $45,090. 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 388 of 453.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $38,449 uses one figure for the whole of Vermont. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 453 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 388.
- Figures are distribution medians for light truck drivers in Vermont, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $30,720 to $65,130; 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 $37,156, from $45,090, assumes a single Vermont 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 388 of 453 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $38,449, worked from $45,090, 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 Vermont address, on work sitting at 388 of 453 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $48,430, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $30,720, the highest tenth $65,130, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Vermont sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $38,449 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Vermont's own levy, $37,156 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 Vermont is $48,430. 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 ($30,720) and the ninetieth ($65,130) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Vermont'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 $38,449 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 $37,156 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.