Trucker Salary Calculator

How Is Truck Driver Salary Calculated?

Truck drivers are often paid based on a combination of hourly wages and mileage rates. Understanding how salaries are calculated helps drivers and fleet managers make informed decisions about route efficiency, compensation, and profitability.

What Costs Affect Trucker Salary?

Truck driver pay is impacted by both fixed and variable costs, especially for owner-operators and independent contractors.

Key fixed costs include:

• Truck lease and loan payments
• Fixed portion of insurance premiums
• Licensing, registration, and permit costs
• Administrative and bookkeeping expenses
• Depreciation costs
• Subscription services like ELDs and weigh station bypass
• Toll expenses for regular routes

Variable costs (like fuel, maintenance, and repairs) also play a significant role and can fluctuate greatly depending on routes, weather, and driving habits.

Formula Used

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

In this formula:

• Base pay per hour is multiplied by 8 hours/day and 5 working days/week.
• Base pay per mile is multiplied by daily miles and 5 days/week.
• The two values are added to determine the weekly salary.
• Monthly salary = Weekly salary × 4
• Yearly salary = Monthly salary × 12

Truck Driver Salary Examples

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:

• Fuel costs, which can potentially be lowered with truck gear ratio & speed adjustments
• Tolls (typically when it’s a new route)
• Meals (most can be recouped via per diem reimbursements) and lodging expenses
• Maintenance and repairs (including the cost of tires)
• Load fees
• Unexpected costs for toll violations and other miscellaneous fines
• Road taxes based on the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA)
• Weigh station fees based on truck axle weight calculations

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.