Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary in Merced, CA

Median pay for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers in Merced, CA: $51,310/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $35,920 – $79,210 · about 1,560 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($51,330) by −$20 (+0%).

What it's really worth in Merced

With Merced's cost of living at 100 (US=100), that $51,310 has the buying power of about $51,507 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $64,772 · median home $419,171 · median rent $1,975/mo.

Full Merced cost of living & taxes →

How Merced ranks for this job

On raw pay, Merced, CA is 95th of the 187 metros we hold heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers wages for. Once Merced's cost of living is applied, it ranks 140th.

The headline number flatters Merced. Once housing and everyday costs are taken into account, heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers here keep less of what they earn than the raw salary implies.

What that salary buys in Merced

A median home in Merced, CA costs $419,171 — about 8.2× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is harder here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,975/mo works out at 46% 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 Merced.

Metro	Median pay	vs Merced	Rent vs Merced
Lincoln, NE	$89,760	+75%	0.7×
Seattle, WA	$63,460	+24%	1.1×
San Francisco, CA	$62,750	+22%	1.6×
San Jose, CA	$62,560	+22%	1.8×

Same job elsewhere in CA

Metro	Median pay	vs Merced	Rent vs Merced
San Francisco, CA	$62,750	+22%	1.6×
San Jose, CA	$62,560	+22%	1.8×
Stockton, CA	$59,060	+15%	1.2×
Santa Rosa, CA	$58,980	+15%	1.3×

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

Other jobs in Merced