How Much Do Trucker’s Make?

Trucker Salary Calculator

Please note these calculators are provided for informational purposes only and unrelated to Drivewyze and its software products.

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Earning an optimal income is essential for the work-life balance and general well-being of a semi truck driver. Our easy-to-use calculator helps truck drivers estimate their salary based on their daily mileage and their base pay per hour or per mile. By inputting the number of miles driven per day and the pay rate, our calculator swiftly determines the estimated weekly, monthly, and yearly salary. Use our Trucker Salary Calculator as a tool to better understand and plan your earnings.

Instantly Calculate Your Estimated Truck Driving Salary

Formula Used

Weekly Salary = (Base Pay per Hour * 8 * 5) + (Base Pay per Mile * Miles Driven per Day * 5)


In this formula:

  • The base pay per hour is multiplied by 8 (hours per day) and by 5 (days per week).
  • The base pay per mile is multiplied by the miles driven per day and by 5 (days per week).
  • The two amounts are added together to calculate the weekly salary.
  • The monthly salary is the weekly salary multiplied by 4, and the yearly salary is the monthly salary multiplied by 12.

Truck Driver Salary Examples

Miles Driven per Day Base Pay per Hour (USD) Base Pay per Mile (cents) Weekly Salary (USD) Monthly Salary (USD) Yearly Salary (USD)
500 20 25 7250 29000 348000
600 25 30 9300 37200 446400

What Costs Affect Trucker Salary?

Many factors can affect a truck driver’s take-home pay. This can include a mix of fixed expenses and variable costs. Fixed costs refer to consistent operating expenses for owner-operators and trucking companies. That includes:



In addition to fixed costs, your total variable costs can have a significant impact on driver pay. Learn more below.

What Are Variable Expenses?

Variable expenses can make calculating costs a headache. That’s because they can fluctuate depending on a number of factors (i.e., usage, distance traveled, maximum payload & towing capacity, etc.). Typical variable costs that truckers should consider when calculating their take home pay include:

Taking into account fixed and fluctuating truck driving costs can help you calculate cost per mile and create a solid financial plan to sustain and grow your trucking business.

What is a Typical Trucking Cost Per Mile?

The average cost per mile for truckers depends on the types of loads hauled, location, and overall operational costs. With that in mind, a healthy ‘total cost per mile’ can range from $1.50 per mile to more than $3.00 per mile, depending on the previously mentioned factors.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

How is the base pay calculated?

The base pay can be a fixed wage per mile or per hour. This depends on the agreement between the driver and their employer. Some employers may also offer a combination of both.

The base pay can vary significantly depending on the employer, location, type of haul, and experience level of the driver. The calculator requires you to input the pay rates applicable to you.

Truck drivers who get paid per mile typically earn more than hourly drivers, in part because they end up driving more.

No, this calculator only provides a basic estimate based on base pay and miles driven. It does not account for overtime, bonuses, or other additional pay or deductions.

Yes, this calculator can be used for any job where pay is based on hours worked and/or miles driven. However, it’s designed with semi truck drivers in mind, so some details may not apply to other types of driving jobs.

A good profit per mile for trucking typically falls in the range of $1.00 to $2.00 after covering all operating costs. This value can vary significantly depending on factors such as the efficiency of the operation, cost of fuel, truck maintenance costs, and the type of haul.

Earning 52 cents per mile in trucking is generally considered at or above average.. However, it’s important to consider other factors, such as the total miles driven, benefits, and the cost of living in your area. For owner-operators, the profitability would also need to account for expenses such as fuel, maintenance, insurance, and truck payments.

To calculate cents per mile in trucking, you need to know the total revenue generated and the total miles driven. The formula is: Cents Per Mile = (Total Revenue ÷ Total Miles Driven) x 100

For example, if you made $2,500 in revenue from a 2,000-mile haul, your rate would be: Cents Per Mile = ($2,500 ÷ 2,000) x 100 = 125 cents per mile

Please keep in mind that this calculation helps determine the revenue per mile, but not the profit. To calculate profit per mile, you would need to subtract your costs per mile from your revenue per mile.

We are here to help the trucking industry become safer and more efficient while enhancing the driver and operator experience. Here are some of the other calculators we offer:

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