Truck driver statistics for 2026: how many, pay, age, safety and turnover

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) counts 2,221,200 heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver jobs in the U.S. in 2025, with median pay of $58,640 a year. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) counts "nearly 3.6 million professional truck drivers" using a broader definition. These truck driver statistics are dated, sourced and labeled with what each number counts.

As of October 2026, the figures below are the most recent we could open at the primary source. For what these numbers mean for keeping drivers, see the DAS driver retention guide.

Truck driver statistics at a glance

How many truck drivers are there?

There are between about 2.1 million and 3.6 million truck drivers in the U.S., depending on who is counted. The four common figures measure different things, and mixing them up is a common error.

Use the BLS 2.2 million figure for heavy and tractor-trailer driving jobs. Use the CPS figure when you need demographics, because that survey asks about people. Quote ATA's 3.6 million as ATA's figure, attributed. The CPS 2025 averages cover 11 months, because October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown, so BLS says they are not strictly comparable with other years.

How much do truck drivers make?

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earned a median of $58,640 a year, or $28.19 an hour, in 2025 (BLS OOH). In the May 2025 OEWS data for wage and salary drivers:

• Mean annual wage: $59,710
• 10th percentile: $40,140
• 90th percentile: $79,380

These OEWS figures come from the BLS time series for occupation code 53-3032 (BLS). They exclude self-employed owner-operators, whose earnings depend on revenue and costs.

A household-survey view points the same way. Full-time wage and salary workers in the broader "driver/sales workers and truck drivers" group had median weekly earnings of $1,055 in 2025, against $1,204 for all full-time wage and salary workers (BLS CPS Table 39).

Where truck drivers work and the job outlook

The BLS lists the largest employers of heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers as truck transportation (40%), wholesale trade (12%), self-employed workers (7%), manufacturing (7%) and construction (6%). Employment is projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, a change of 83,800 jobs. "About 214,500 openings for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are projected each year, on average, over the decade." BLS expects many of those openings to come from replacing drivers who move to other occupations or leave the labor force, such as to retire, according to the BLS OOH.

The work shapes the life. BLS notes that long-haul trucking "is a lifestyle choice because these drivers can be away from home for days or weeks at a time."

Truck driver demographics: age, gender and background

The CPS gives the best demographic picture for the broader "driver/sales workers and truck drivers" group in 2025 (Table 11, Table 11b):

The age shares are our calculations from the BLS counts. The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) reported in July 2025 that "the average truck driver now 47 years old" is part of a changing workforce, without naming its data source in the release (ATRI, July 15, 2025). For the full picture on women drivers, see our women in trucking statistics.

Truck driver turnover and tenure

Turnover figures are widely quoted and often misread.

• ATA's latest published rate is from 2020. "The annualized turnover rate at large truckload carriers averaged 90%," while smaller truckload fleets averaged 69% and less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers 13% in 2020. Large means more than $30 million in annual revenue (ATA, March 29, 2021). We found no later ATA turnover figure on trucking.org.
• What that rate measures. ATA, which created the metric, says: "It captures churn within the industry—not attrition from the industry" (ATA, March 25, 2022). A 90% rate means drivers moving between carriers, not 90% leaving trucking.
• Tenure. Median tenure with the current employer was 3.5 years in transportation and material moving occupations in January 2026, against 4.1 years for all wage and salary workers (BLS Table 6).
• Quits. The quits rate in transportation, warehousing and utilities was 1.9% of employment in August 2026, seasonally adjusted and preliminary (BLS JOLTS Table 4). That is a monthly rate for a broad sector, so don't compare it directly with ATA's annual carrier rate.

To put your own turnover in dollars, see the true cost of losing a driver.

Truck safety statistics

• 5,340 deaths. In 2024, 5,340 people were killed in traffic crashes involving large trucks, a 2.5% decrease from 5,478 in 2023. An estimated 161,201 people were injured (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts, DOT HS 813 816, June 2026).
• Who was killed. 70% of those killed were occupants of other vehicles.
• Exposure. Large trucks were 5% of registered vehicles and 10% of vehicle miles traveled in 2024.
• Definition. NHTSA's "large truck" means a medium or heavy truck, excluding buses and motor homes, with a gross vehicle weight rating over 10,000 pounds. It includes both commercial and non-commercial vehicles.
• On-the-job deaths. BLS recorded 798 fatal work injuries among heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in 2024, out of 5,070 across all occupations (BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, Table 3).

Trucking industry statistics for 2026: costs and concerns

• Operating cost. ATRI's 2026 operational-costs report found the industry-average cost to operate a truck in 2025 was $2.336 per mile, and $1.854 per mile excluding fuel. Driver pay rose at a sub-inflationary rate "for the second year in a row" (ATRI, July 15, 2026).
• Freight share. ATA says truck drivers "safely deliver more than 72% of the country's total freight tonnage" (ATA, September 11, 2026).
• Top concerns. In ATRI's 2026 Top Industry Issues survey, released October 18, 2026 with nearly 3,100 respondents, fuel prices ranked first. The driver shortage ranked 5th, driver compensation 9th and driver retention 10th. Truck-driver respondents ranked fuel prices, truck parking and driver compensation as their top three; motor carriers ranked lawsuit abuse reform, fuel prices and the driver shortage (ATRI).
• Driver Appreciation Week. As of October 2026, National Truck Driver Appreciation Week 2027 is listed for September 12–18, 2027, per the ATA event schedule.

Which truck driver statistic should you quote?

Match the number to the question you're answering:

Numbers we didn't use, and why

• A driver shortage figure. We saw ATA shortage estimates only in trade press and did not find them on a primary ATA page in this check.
• "3.5 million truck drivers." It circulates widely but differs from both the BLS and current ATA figures.
• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration crash-facts tables, which did not open for us in this check. The NHTSA figures above come from the same national crash data.

What these statistics mean for driver retention

The numbers describe an older workforce that changes carriers often, works away from home and ranks pay and parking among its top concerns. Fair pay and adequate parking are fundamental needs. Recognition is additional support on top of them: it tells a driver the fleet noticed the miles, the years and the safe record. Results vary by fleet operations and program execution.

Driver Appreciation Solutions (DAS) is a specialist in recognition programs for the trucking industry, focused on curated driver appreciation and fulfillment, with years-of-service awards and separate Service Miles and Safe Service Miles tracks. Programs are quoted on driver count, customization and timeline, with a minimum order of 10 units on all items. Pricing is quoted per program. Request current pricing.

By the Driver Appreciation Solutions Team. Read how we create and review content.