How much do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers make in Merced, CA?

Percentile spread

For Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, the published 10th percentile is $36,470 and the 90th percentile is $83,810. The difference is $47,340, which is 85.1% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $45,410 to the 75th at $65,740, covers $20,330.

The mean annual wage is $58,420, which sits above the median of $55,630. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Merced, CA median is 5.1% lower than the national median of $58,640 for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers. In 2024 national prices the local median is $56,606, which is 3.5% lower than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 7.6% lower than the California median of $60,230.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Merced, CA is 98.275, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $55,630 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers at $56,606 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

19 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers. Merced, CA ranks 17th of 20 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

• Modesto, CA is 30 miles away, with a median of $58,330 and employment of 3,510. That median is 4.9% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $56,028, against $56,606 here.
• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is 41 miles away, with a median of $70,730 and employment of 5,360. That median is 27.1% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $64,054, against $56,606 here.
• Stockton-Lodi, CA is 59 miles away, with a median of $60,470 and employment of 10,110. That median is 8.7% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $57,542, against $56,606 here.

Employment share

Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers accounts for 2.2% of wage-and-salary employment in Merced, CA (1,710 of 79,510). Nationally the occupation is 1.3% of employment (2,062,040 of 155,495,730). The local share is 1.62 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.