What Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers earn in Fulton County, GA
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $59,100: the median annual pay for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Fulton County, GA. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $28.41 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $59,400, which is 0.5% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 41,830 people working in this occupation across the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Fulton County, GA has roughly 1,076,561 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $40,900 a year ($19.66 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $77,750 or more ($37.38 an hour). That is a gap of $36,850 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $46,690 at the 25th percentile and $72,070 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.9 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $28.41 an hour or $59,100 a year at the median for Fulton County, GA. Before any deductions, that is $4,925 a month, $2,273 every two weeks and $1,137 each week. After taxes the same job pays $22.68 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Fulton County, GA compares
Compared with the Georgia average
A worker in this occupation in Fulton County, GA earns $2,533 more than the Georgia average of $56,567, a premium of 4.5%. Over a year that premium is worth $2,533 before tax and roughly $2,021 after tax. Within Georgia, Fulton County, GA already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers is $57,851 across the contiguous United States. At $59,100, Fulton County, GA pays $1,249 more, which is 2.2% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Fulton County, GA
Among the 585 occupations with published wages in Fulton County, GA, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers ranks number 292 by median pay, ahead of about 50% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $177,970 a year, which is $118,870 more than the median for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers earning the Fulton County, GA median of $59,100, they add up to $11,929. The result is $47,171 of take-home pay a year ($3,931 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $20 goes to taxes and $80 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 20.2%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $43,350. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $4,964, an effective 8.4% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $3,664 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $857. FICA totals $4,521, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Georgia
Georgia income tax on this salary is $2,444 a year, or 4.1% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 49% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $204 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Fulton County, GA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Fulton County, GA show an average adjusted gross income of $140,806 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 19.4% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 8.0%, compared with the 8.4% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Fulton County, GA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Fulton County, GA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $47,171 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Fulton County, GA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,619 a month ($19,428 a year), and at $1,762 for two bedrooms. For Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, a one-bedroom absorbs 41.2% of take-home pay and 32.9% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 5.8% of gross pay for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Fulton County, GA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Georgia residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,488 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $720, for $2,207 in total. Gasoline in Georgia averages $2.95 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,366.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $26,437 a year in Fulton County, GA. Subtract that from $47,171 of take-home pay and $20,734 remains, which is $1,728 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 35.1% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers afford to live in Fulton County, GA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $59,100 that ceiling is $1,478 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,619 is $142 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $31.13 an hour; the median for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers is $28.41, which is 9% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $22.68 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 16.5 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,762 a month means $881 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $8,856 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $29,590.
How fast you can save
At $1,728 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 6 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 12 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers pay in Fulton County, GA
How much do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers make per hour in Fulton County, GA?
The median is $28.41 per hour, based on $59,100 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $19.66 at the 10th percentile to $37.38 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers take home after taxes in Fulton County, GA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $59,100 becomes $47,171 a year. That is $3,931 a month, $1,814 every two weeks or $907 a week.
How much tax do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers pay in Fulton County, GA?
Total taxes are $11,929 a year, an effective rate of 20.2%: $4,964 federal income tax, $4,521 FICA and $2,444 Georgia income tax.
Do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers earn more in Fulton County, GA than elsewhere in Georgia?
Yes. The local median of $59,100 is +4.5% versus the Georgia average of $56,567, a difference of $2,533 a year.
Can Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Fulton County, GA?
A one-bedroom costs $1,619 a month against take-home pay of $3,931, which is 41.2% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,478 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Fulton County, GA?
About $1,728 a month ($20,734 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $26,437 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Fulton County, GA at the 30% guideline?
$31.13 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $19,428 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers is $28.41.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Georgia rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.