Is Chicago a strong pay market for Truck Drivers?

At a $62,300 median, Chicago is $3,660 (6%) above the national median. The U.S. median is $58,640. Jobeezy shows you which local employers actually pay at the top of that band before you apply.

How can I earn more as a Truck Driver in Chicago?

Target employers paying toward the $77,660 (75th-percentile) mark and anchor your negotiation to the BLS band. Jobeezy fit-scores Truck Driver openings in Chicago and auto-applies, so you reach more high-paying employers fast.

How many Truck Drivers work in Chicago?

BLS estimates roughly 62,210 truck driver jobs across Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (May 2025 metro employment — a count of jobs, not of salaries reported).

Truck Driver Salary in Chicago, IL (2026)

Median in Chicago: $62,300/year — $3,660 (6%) above the national median. Typical range: $50,580–$77,660.

Get the Jobeezy app — free Browse Truck Driver jobs

BLS OEWS May 2025 · Chicago, IL metro · refreshed 2026-08-25 · Reviewed by Dalton Metzler · U.S. Truck Driver salary overview

The median Truck Driver salary in Chicago, IL is $62,300/year ($3,660 (6%) above the national median), with a typical range of $50,580–$77,660. Data from BLS + Jobeezy ghost-filter (2026).

Salary stats
Metric	Value	Source
Median	$62,300/year	BLS OEWS May 2025
25th-75th pct	$50,580–$77,660	BLS OEWS May 2025
Metro employment	~62,210	BLS OEWS May 2025

### Key facts: Truck Driver pay in Chicago, IL BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data for Truck Drivers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro. - Median Truck Driver pay in Chicago, IL: $62,300/year (BLS OEWS May 2025). - That is $3,660 (6%) above the national median (U.S. median $58,640). - 25th-75th percentile band: $50,580–$77,660. - BLS estimated metro employment: ~62,210 jobs.

Truck Driver pay distribution in Chicago, IL

25th Pct (Chicago) $50,580 $24.32/hr

Median (Chicago) $62,300 $29.95/hr

75th Pct (Chicago) $77,660 $37.34/hr

National median: $58,640/yr. Chicago is $3,660 (6%) above the national median.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 — Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area (SOC 53-3032, Truck Driver).

What truck driver pay in Chicago really looks like

Chicago pays above the national market for truck drivers. The local median of $62,300 a year is $3,660 (6%) over the U.S. median of $58,640 — a premium worth anchoring to when you negotiate. An offer benchmarked to nationwide averages will read low here, so it is worth citing the local BLS figure directly rather than the U.S. number.

The local range is moderate — $50,580 at the 25th percentile to $77,660 at the 75th (BLS). Half of Chicago Truck Drivers earn inside that band, so it is a realistic target window: an offer near $77,660 is genuinely strong for the metro, while anything under $50,580 is worth pushing back on with the BLS figures in hand.

This is a substantial local market: BLS estimates roughly 62,210 truck driver jobs across the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area (a count of metro employment, not a survey of reported salaries). A deep employer base is good news for pay — it means more openings to compare side by side, more turnover creating vacancies, and more leverage to hold out for an employer at the top of the local range instead of settling for the first offer that lands.

Right now, Jobeezy is tracking 24 open truck driver jobs in Chicago against the BLS $62,300 benchmark — the live listings and the employers hiring are below, so you can see which openings actually clear the metro median before you apply.

Put it together and the picture for Chicago is concrete: a metro median of $62,300 with most truck drivers landing between $50,580 and $77,660. The practical move is to aim for the upper half of that band. Jobeezy fit-scores local truck driver openings, surfaces the employers posting toward $77,660, and applies for you — so your time goes to the jobs that clear the Chicago median, not the ones that sit under it.

Truck Driver pay by hour, week, month & year in Chicago

Period	Typical Pay
Per hour	$29.95
Per week (40 hrs)	$1,198
Per month	$5,192
Per year	$62,300

How we know this — Chicago sources

Wage figures for Truck Driver in Chicago, IL are the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS May 2025 estimate for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area (MSA code 16980) (SOC 53-3032), released 2026-08-25. Suppressed cells are shown as an em dash, never a zero.

Reviewed by Dalton Metzler · Jobeezy Compensation Data

Grow your truck driver pay in Chicago

Advancing your pay in Chicago comes down to experience, credentials, and how you negotiate. We keep that guidance on the national Truck Driver guide so it stays current in one place:

Compare Truck Driver pay in nearby metros

Beyond Truck Driver · same Chicago BLS dataset

Other roles hiring in Chicago, IL alongside truck drivers, drawn from the same BLS OEWS May 2025 dataset:

See all IL jobs → IL salary overview →

Truck Driver pay in Chicago, IL — common questions

How much does a Truck Driver make in Chicago, IL?: The median Truck Driver salary in Chicago, IL is $62,300/year ($3,660 (6%) above the national median), with a typical range of $50,580–$77,660 (25th–75th percentile). Figures are BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-08-25.
Is Chicago a strong pay market for Truck Drivers?: At a $62,300 median, Chicago is $3,660 (6%) above the national median. The U.S. median is $58,640. Jobeezy shows you which local employers actually pay at the top of that band before you apply.
How can I earn more as a Truck Driver in Chicago?: Target employers paying toward the $77,660 (75th-percentile) mark and anchor your negotiation to the BLS band. Jobeezy fit-scores Truck Driver openings in Chicago and auto-applies, so you reach more high-paying employers fast.
How many Truck Drivers work in Chicago?: BLS estimates roughly 62,210 truck driver jobs across Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (May 2025 metro employment — a count of jobs, not of salaries reported).