What Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers earn in Pierce County, WA
The median pay for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Pierce County, WA is $71,240 per year, which works out to $34.25 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area, the labor market that Pierce County, WA belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $71,980, which is 1.0% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 21,230 people working in this occupation across the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Pierce County, WA has roughly 930,319 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $55,980 a year ($26.91 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $93,810 or more ($45.10 an hour). That is a gap of $37,830 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $61,570 at the 25th percentile and $78,600 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.7 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: $34.25 an hour or $71,240 a year at the median for Pierce County, WA. Before any deductions, that is $5,937 a month, $2,740 every two weeks and $1,370 each week. After taxes the same job pays $28.21 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Pierce County, WA compares
Compared with the Washington average
A worker in this occupation in Pierce County, WA earns $5,096 more than the Washington average of $66,144, a premium of 7.7%. Over a year that premium is worth $5,096 before tax and roughly $4,197 after tax. Within Washington, Pierce County, WA 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 $71,240, Pierce County, WA pays $13,389 more, which is 23.1% 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 Pierce County, WA
Among the 612 occupations with published wages in Pierce County, WA, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers ranks number 354 by median pay, ahead of about 42% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $214,680 a year, which is $143,440 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 Pierce County, WA median of $71,240, they add up to $12,572. The result is $58,668 of take-home pay a year ($4,889 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $18 goes to taxes and $82 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 17.6%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $55,490. 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 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $7,122, an effective 10.0% of gross pay, well below the 22% 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 $4,417 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,033. FICA totals $5,450, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Washington
Washington does not tax wage income, so the state income tax line for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Pierce County, WA is $0. That alone leaves more in the paycheck than the same salary would in a state with an income tax. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $3,562 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $297 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Pierce County, WA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Pierce County, WA show an average adjusted gross income of $94,511 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 12.9% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 7.3%, compared with the 10.0% 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 Pierce County, WA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Pierce County, WA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $58,668 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Pierce County, WA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,682 a month ($20,184 a year), and at $2,064 for two bedrooms. For Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, a one-bedroom absorbs 34.4% of take-home pay and 28.3% 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 4.8% of gross pay for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Pierce County, WA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Washington residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,257 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $475, for $1,732 in total. Gasoline in Washington averages $4.07 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,883.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $27,234 a year in Pierce County, WA. Subtract that from $58,668 of take-home pay and $31,434 remains, which is $2,620 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 44.1% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers afford to live in Pierce County, WA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $71,240 that ceiling is $1,781 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,682 is $99 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $32.35 an hour; the median for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers is $34.25, which is 6% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $28.21 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 13.8 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,064 a month means $1,032 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,800 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $39,234.
How fast you can save
At $2,620 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 4 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 8 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 Pierce County, WA
How much do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers make per hour in Pierce County, WA?
The median is $34.25 per hour, based on $71,240 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $26.91 at the 10th percentile to $45.10 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers take home after taxes in Pierce County, WA?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $71,240 becomes $58,668 a year. That is $4,889 a month, $2,256 every two weeks or $1,128 a week.
How much tax do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers pay in Pierce County, WA?
Total taxes are $12,572 a year, an effective rate of 17.6%: $7,122 federal income tax, $5,450 FICA and no Washington income tax.
Do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers earn more in Pierce County, WA than elsewhere in Washington?
Yes. The local median of $71,240 is +7.7% versus the Washington average of $66,144, a difference of $5,096 a year.
Can Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Pierce County, WA?
A one-bedroom costs $1,682 a month against take-home pay of $4,889, which is 34.4% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,781 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Pierce County, WA?
About $2,620 a month ($31,434 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $27,234 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Pierce County, WA at the 30% guideline?
$32.35 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $20,184 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers is $34.25.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 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 Washington 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.