Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in the New Orleans-Metairie Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers pay in New Orleans-Metairie, LA at a median of $51,540 per year ($24.78/hr), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared with the national median of $58,640, the metro estimate is 12% below. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 5,500 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are employed across the New Orleans-Metairie MSA in SOC 53-3032.

The New Orleans-Metairie pay distribution spans from $37,960 at the 10th percentile to $73,880 at the 90th, a 1.9× observed spread. Differences in specialization, employer, sector, location, credentials, schedule, and experience may all contribute, but OEWS does not isolate their effects. The 25th percentile sits at $44,130 and the 75th at $60,600, so half of New Orleans-Metairie-based heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn within that middle band.

Metro figures use establishment work location, not worker residence. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so New Orleans-Metairie, LA covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. OEWS includes straight-time pay, tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. It excludes employer health and retirement benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, signing bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses. The same occupation's national profile, statewide LA estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.