Best programs to become a heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver
You do not need a college degree to become a heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver. BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate) as the typical entry-level education. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Truck and Bus Driver/Commercial Vehicle Operator and Instructor (IPEDS completions).
1 college program at 232 schools trains heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, graduating 17,965 people a year (IPEDS completions). 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.
Best programs to study to become a heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver
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.
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.
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 knowledge
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
How to get in
How to become a heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver
- 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 and tractor-trailer truck driver?+
You do not need a college degree to become a heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver. BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate) as the typical entry-level education. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Truck and Bus Driver/Commercial Vehicle Operator and Instructor (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Truck and Bus Driver/Commercial Vehicle Operator and Instructor (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 program to this job, which graduates 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 program 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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