Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in the Ponce Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers pay in Ponce, PR at a median of $23,490 per year ($11.29/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 60% below. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 640 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are employed across the Ponce MSA in SOC 53-3032.

The Ponce pay distribution spans from $21,840 at the 10th percentile to $35,100 at the 90th, a 1.6× 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 $22,530 and the 75th at $27,930, so half of Ponce-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 Ponce, PR 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 PR estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.