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Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary in Columbus, GA

Median pay for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers in Columbus, GA: $49,220/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $33,800 – $72,490 · about 1,210 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($51,330) by −$2,110 (-4%).

What it's really worth in Columbus

With Columbus's cost of living at 89 (US=100), that $49,220 has the buying power of about $55,402 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $55,720 · median home $209,527 · median rent $1,278/mo.

Full Columbus cost of living & taxes →

How Columbus ranks for this job

On raw pay, Columbus, GA is 132nd of the 187 metros we hold heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers wages for. Once Columbus's cost of living is applied, it ranks 75th.

Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Columbus is one of the places where heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers gain ground in real terms, because local costs are low relative to what the job pays.

What that salary buys in Columbus

A median home in Columbus, GA costs $209,527 — about 4.3× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,278/mo works out at 31% of gross pay — above the conventional 30% affordability ceiling, so renting would stretch this salary.

Where heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Columbus.

MetroMedian payvs ColumbusRent vs Columbus
Lincoln, NE $89,760 +82% 1.1×
Seattle, WA $63,460 +29% 1.7×
San Francisco, CA $62,750 +27% 2.5×
San Jose, CA $62,560 +27% 2.8×

Same job elsewhere in GA

MetroMedian payvs ColumbusRent vs Columbus
Atlanta, GA $57,230 +16% 1.4×
Savannah, GA $50,420 +2% 1.4×
Augusta, GA $50,130 +2% 1.2×

Staying in GA keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

Other jobs in Columbus

Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 187 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.