Best degree programs for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, ranked by enrollment
1 college programs and 232 schools train Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $58,640 median wage, 2,062,040 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
1 college programs at 232 schools train heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, graduating 17,965 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Truck and Bus Driver/Commercial Vehicle Operator and Instructor. The job pays a median of $58,640 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers
Drive a tractor-trailer combination or a truck with a capacity of at least 26,001 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW). May be required to unload truck. Requires commercial drivers' license. Includes tow truck drivers.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
1 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 49.0205 | 17,965 | 100.0% | 232 | $42,812 | $7,572 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | $57,050 | 74,840 | 1.15× | 22 | 1,996 |
| Texas | $56,290 | 209,680 | 1.12× | 12 | 1,225 |
| California | $60,230 | 205,090 | 0.85× | 6 | 1,097 |
| Pennsylvania | $58,580 | 87,550 | 1.09× | 16 | 1,075 |
| Illinois | $60,320 | 84,200 | 1.04× | 15 | 965 |
| Utah | $60,620 | 25,060 | 1.09× | 10 | 960 |
| Connecticutlimited | $60,490 | 15,740 | 0.70× | 2 | 913 |
| Ohio | $59,800 | 83,060 | 1.13× | 9 | 875 |
| Kentucky | $56,340 | 31,760 | 1.20× | 14 | 840 |
| Florida | $50,640 | 112,920 | 0.86× | 16 | 839 |
| Mississippi | $51,820 | 24,160 | 1.57× | 8 | 828 |
| Rhode Islandlimited | $60,190 | 3,620 | 0.55× | 1 | 626 |
| Arizona | $58,080 | 40,150 | 0.93× | 6 | 587 |
| Louisianalimited | $49,320 | 28,540 | 1.11× | 2 | 577 |
| Tennessee | $58,620 | 64,890 | 1.49× | 14 | 555 |
| Kansas | $58,920 | 24,220 | 1.27× | 8 | 427 |
| Wisconsin | $58,610 | 53,330 | 1.37× | 7 | 425 |
| Marylandmoderate | $59,360 | 29,150 | 0.80× | 4 | 420 |
| Massachusettslimited | $63,030 | 30,890 | 0.64× | 1 | 396 |
| Arkansas | $51,550 | 32,220 | 1.86× | 9 | 316 |
| Alabamalimited | $52,120 | 36,650 | 1.31× | 2 | 287 |
| Michiganlimited | $57,180 | 60,800 | 1.04× | 2 | 258 |
| North Carolina | $51,530 | 62,400 | 0.95× | 5 | 257 |
| West Virginia | $49,480 | 12,190 | 1.31× | 5 | 196 |
| Washington | $64,760 | 40,530 | 0.86× | 8 | 193 |
| Nebraskalimited | $58,390 | 23,160 | 1.70× | 2 | 117 |
| Missourilimited | $54,550 | 47,760 | 1.23× | 1 | 114 |
| Virginialimited | $56,860 | 48,750 | 0.89× | 1 | 107 |
| New Mexicomoderate | $50,500 | 11,820 | 1.02× | 3 | 93 |
| South Carolinamoderate | $51,130 | 34,170 | 1.12× | 3 | 87 |
| Oklahomalimited | $54,410 | 27,840 | 1.23× | 2 | 81 |
| Minnesotamoderate | $61,990 | 38,770 | 0.99× | 3 | 76 |
| North Dakotamoderate | $60,910 | 11,870 | 2.08× | 3 | 38 |
| Indianalimited | $60,290 | 59,090 | 1.39× | 1 | 31 |
| Oregonlimited | $61,980 | 23,970 | 0.92× | 1 | 27 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $60,280 | 6,960 | 0.77× | 1 | 25 |
| Montanalimited | $58,870 | 7,830 | 1.15× | 2 | 19 |
| Wyominglimited | $60,310 | 6,050 | 1.63× | 1 | 5 |
| Delawarelimited | $57,590 | 9,040 | 1.41× | 1 | 4 |
| Iowalimited | $58,070 | 35,040 | 1.69× | 1 | 4 |
| South Dakotalimited | $58,690 | 6,470 | 1.07× | 2 | 4 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Check all load-related documentation for completeness and accuracy.
- Inspect loads to ensure that cargo is secure.
- Check vehicles to ensure that mechanical, safety, and emergency equipment is in good working order.
- Crank trailer landing gear up or down to safely secure vehicles.
- Obtain receipts or signatures for delivered goods and collect payment for services when required.
- Maintain logs of working hours or of vehicle service or repair status, following applicable state and federal regulations.
- Read bills of lading to determine assignment details.
- Report vehicle defects, accidents, traffic violations, or damage to the vehicles.
Skills
- Monitoring3.1
- Critical Thinking3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Reading Comprehension3.0
- Active Listening2.9
- Writing2.8
- Active Learning2.5
- Mathematics2.0
Knowledge areas
- Transportation4.0
- Public Safety and Security3.9
- Customer and Personal Service3.7
- English Language3.6
- Law and Government3.0
- Mechanical2.8
Abilities
- Far Vision4.1
- Rate Control3.9
- Control Precision3.9
- Response Orientation3.9
- Multilimb Coordination3.9
- Spatial Orientation3.9
Core activities
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment4.6
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.4
- Getting Information4.3
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings3.9
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events3.9
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates3.7
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Heavy
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 49.0205Truck and Bus Driver/Commercial Vehicle Operator and Instructor
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Heavy?+
Postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Truck and Bus Driver/Commercial Vehicle Operator and Instructor, which awarded 17,965 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Heavy?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Ground Transportation. Together they graduate about 17,965 people a year.
How much do heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn?+
The median is $58,640 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $40,140 at the 10th percentile to $79,380 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers growing?+
BLS projects a +4.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 237,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
232 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Driver, Truck Driver, Line Haul Driver, Over the Road Driver (OTR Driver) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 53-3032.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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