Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Occupation-level safety SOC 53-3031

Driver/Sales Workers

Occupation-specific BLS fatality and injury rates set the reading order for Driver/Sales Workers, then wages beside peers such as Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers, Flight Attendants, Crane and Tower Operators, Locomotive Engineers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Driver/Sales Workers: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers ($232K) , Flight Attendants ($64K) , Crane and Tower Operators ($68K) , Locomotive Engineers ($81K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Driver/Sales Workers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-3031 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Drive trucks to deliver such items as food, medical supplies, or newspapers
  2. 2. Arrange merchandise and sales promotion displays or issue sales promotion materials to customers
  3. 3. Collect coins from vending machines, refill machines, and remove aged merchandise
  4. 4. Inform regular customers of new products or services and price changes
  5. 5. Record sales or delivery information on daily sales or delivery record
  6. 6. Listen to and resolve customers' complaints regarding products or services
  7. 7. Collect money from customers, make change, and record transactions on customer receipts
  8. 8. Maintain trucks and food-dispensing equipment and clean inside of machines that dispense food or beverages
  9. 9. Write customer orders and sales contracts according to company guidelines
  10. 10. Review lists of dealers, customers, or station drops and load trucks
  11. 11. Sell food specialties, such as sandwiches and beverages, to office workers and patrons of sports events

Driver/Sales Workers: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-3031 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.8 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.8
  2. 2. Speaking 3.6
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 3.1
  4. 4. Service Orientation 3.1
  5. 5. Reading Comprehension 3.0
  6. 6. Social Perceptiveness 3.0
  7. 7. Complex Problem Solving 3.0
  8. 8. Time Management 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.2
  2. 2. Food Production 3.6
  3. 3. English Language 3.5
  4. 4. Transportation 3.5
  5. 5. Public Safety and Security 3.2
  6. 6. Administration and Management 3.0
Occupation safety grade
B
Safe
Transparent derived index from BLS CFOI/SOII, not an official BLS rating · formula
National median still $38,770/yr
$39K
National median
↑ +9%
Growth 2024-2034
51,300
Annual openings
409,180
Estimated US jobs
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
Highest-pay peer · $232K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Driver/Sales Workers

1. California $45,600
2. Alaska $48,420
3. New Jersey $44,720
4. Massachusetts $46,870
5. Iowa $47,120
6. Kansas $43,180
7. Colorado $43,420
8. New York $42,730
9. South Dakota $45,050
10. Vermont $46,300

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Crane and Tower Operators $68,080
  2. 2. Flight Attendants $63,580
  3. 3. Locomotive Engineers $81,410
  4. 4. Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels $92,460
  5. 5. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers $232,140
  6. 6. Air Traffic Controllers $148,080

Driver/Sales Workers carries an occupation-specific WageDex safety grade of B from BLS CFOI/SOII rates. The national OEWS median is $38,770 inside Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (SOC 53-3031).

Employment Projections expect +9% change between 2024 and 2034 (much faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 51,300 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements.

Highest published state median in this ranking: California at $45,600. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers at $232,140. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Driver/Sales Workers pay-rank #41 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

On the Transportation and Material Moving Occupations median table (50 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Driver/Sales Workers lands at #41, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 53-3031 · national median $38,770 · lower third of Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (#41/50). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Driver/Sales Workers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-3031

California · top state for Driver/Sales Workers

$46K published median

Alaska · #2 state pay

$48K · behind California

Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

Highest-pay peer vs Driver/Sales Workers · $232K

Flight Attendants

Lower-pay peer beside Driver/Sales Workers · $64K

Compare Driver/Sales Workers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Driver/Sales Workers with another occupation →

Safety and risk next reads

Safest Occupations

Roles with the strongest published safety grades

Driver/Sales Workers full wage map

State and metro pay after the safety lead

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Driver/Sales Workers land on the Transportation and Material Moving Occupations median table? ▼
Driver/Sales Workers is pay-rank #41 of 50 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Passenger Attendants ($38K), Stockers and Order Fillers ($37K), Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand ($40K), Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs ($37K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do driver/sales workers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Driver/Sales Workers. Leading ones include: Drive trucks to deliver such items as food, medical supplies, or newspapers; Arrange merchandise and sales promotion displays or issue sales promotion materials to customers; Collect coins from vending machines, refill machines, and remove aged merchandise; Inform regular customers of new products or services and price changes. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for driver/sales workers? ▼
For SOC 53-3031, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.8), Speaking (3.6), Critical Thinking (3.1), Service Orientation (3.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Food Production, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Driver/Sales Workers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $38,770 as the national median for Driver/Sales Workers. The published 10th-90th range is $22,590 to $59,980. Beside Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers ($232,140), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Driver/Sales Workers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Driver/Sales Workers is +9%. Projected annual openings: about 51,300. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Driver/Sales Workers? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Driver/Sales Workers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Driver/Sales Workers? ▼
California ($45,600), Alaska ($48,420), New Jersey ($44,720) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Driver/Sales Workers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-3031. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Driver/Sales Workers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics