Most driver-dense states
Highest share of local employment made up of tractor-trailer drivers.
- North Dakota2.08x national · 11,870 drivers
- Arkansas1.86x national · 32,220 drivers
- Nebraska1.70x national · 23,160 drivers
- Iowa1.69x national · 35,040 drivers
- Wyoming1.63x national · 6,050 drivers
Largest driver workforces
Biggest raw headcount — a thinner concentration can still mean a deep pool.
- Texas209,680 drivers · 1.12x national
- California205,090 drivers · 0.85x national
- Florida112,920 drivers · 0.86x national
- Pennsylvania87,550 drivers · 1.09x national
- Illinois84,200 drivers · 1.04x national
Every state, ranked
Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.00x means the state employs drivers at exactly the national rate, 2.00x means double. Click a column heading to re-sort.
| Supply | Open jobs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 11,870 | 2.08x | $60,910 | Strong supply | ND jobs |
| Arkansas | 32,220 | 1.86x | $51,550 | Strong supply | AR jobs |
| Nebraska | 23,160 | 1.70x | $58,390 | Strong supply | NE jobs |
| Iowa | 35,040 | 1.69x | $58,070 | Strong supply | IA jobs |
| Wyoming | 6,050 | 1.63x | $60,310 | Strong supply | WY jobs |
| Mississippi | 24,160 | 1.57x | $51,820 | Strong supply | MS jobs |
| Tennessee | 64,890 | 1.49x | $58,620 | Above average | TN jobs |
| Delaware | 9,040 | 1.41x | $57,590 | Above average | DE jobs |
| Idaho | 15,920 | 1.40x | $58,770 | Above average | ID jobs |
| Indiana | 59,090 | 1.39x | $60,290 | Above average | IN jobs |
| Wisconsin | 53,330 | 1.37x | $58,610 | Above average | WI jobs |
| Alabama | 36,650 | 1.31x | $52,120 | Above average | AL jobs |
| West Virginia | 12,190 | 1.31x | $49,480 | Above average | WV jobs |
| Kansas | 24,220 | 1.27x | $58,920 | Above average | KS jobs |
| Missouri | 47,760 | 1.23x | $54,550 | Above average | MO jobs |
| Oklahoma | 27,840 | 1.23x | $54,410 | Above average | OK jobs |
| Kentucky | 31,760 | 1.20x | $56,340 | Above average | KY jobs |
| Maine | 9,980 | 1.18x | $57,050 | Above average | ME jobs |
| Georgia | 74,840 | 1.15x | $57,050 | Above average | GA jobs |
| Montana | 7,830 | 1.15x | $58,870 | Above average | MT jobs |
| Ohio | 83,060 | 1.13x | $59,800 | Average supply | OH jobs |
| South Carolina | 34,170 | 1.12x | $51,130 | Average supply | SC jobs |
| Texas | 209,680 | 1.12x | $56,290 | Average supply | TX jobs |
| Louisiana | 28,540 | 1.11x | $49,320 | Average supply | LA jobs |
| Pennsylvania | 87,550 | 1.09x | $58,580 | Average supply | PA jobs |
| Utah | 25,060 | 1.09x | $60,620 | Average supply | UT jobs |
| South Dakota | 6,470 | 1.07x | $58,690 | Average supply | SD jobs |
| Illinois | 84,200 | 1.04x | $60,320 | Average supply | IL jobs |
| Michigan | 60,800 | 1.04x | $57,180 | Average supply | MI jobs |
| New Mexico | 11,820 | 1.02x | $50,500 | Average supply | NM jobs |
| Minnesota | 38,770 | 0.99x | $61,990 | Average supply | MN jobs |
| North Carolina | 62,400 | 0.95x | $51,530 | Average supply | NC jobs |
| Arizona | 40,150 | 0.93x | $58,080 | Average supply | AZ jobs |
| Oregon | 23,970 | 0.92x | $61,980 | Average supply | OR jobs |
| Virginia | 48,750 | 0.89x | $56,860 | Average supply | VA jobs |
| Vermont | 3,560 | 0.88x | $60,830 | Average supply | VT jobs |
| Florida | 112,920 | 0.86x | $50,640 | Average supply | FL jobs |
| Washington | 40,530 | 0.86x | $64,760 | Average supply | WA jobs |
| California | 205,090 | 0.85x | $60,230 | Average supply | CA jobs |
| New Jersey | 47,980 | 0.84x | $63,570 | Thin supply | NJ jobs |
| Maryland | 29,150 | 0.80x | $59,360 | Thin supply | MD jobs |
| Alaska | 3,420 | 0.79x | $70,100 | Thin supply | AK jobs |
| New Hampshire | 6,960 | 0.77x | $60,280 | Thin supply | NH jobs |
| Nevada | 15,010 | 0.73x | $62,290 | Thin supply | NV jobs |
| Connecticut | 15,740 | 0.70x | $60,490 | Thin supply | CT jobs |
| Colorado | 25,350 | 0.67x | $61,500 | Thin supply | CO jobs |
| Massachusetts | 30,890 | 0.64x | $63,030 | Thin supply | MA jobs |
| Rhode Island | 3,620 | 0.55x | $60,190 | Thin supply | RI jobs |
| New York | 63,700 | 0.50x | $62,050 | Thin supply | NY jobs |
| Hawaii | 4,070 | 0.49x | $59,820 | Thin supply | HI jobs |
| District of Columbia | 830 | 0.09x | $64,170 | Thin supply | DC jobs |
How to read this if you are hiring drivers
Concentration tells you where drivers live; it does not tell you they are available. A 2.00x state has twice the national share of drivers, which usually means lower cost per applicant and shorter recruiting cycles — but it also means more carriers competing for the same people.
Raw headcount matters for volume hiring. Some states carry a high quotient on a small workforce. If you need thirty drivers this quarter, a big-headcount state will usually fill faster than a dense but small one.
Median pay is your floor, not your offer. Posting below the state median is the fastest way to get clicks that never convert.
Applicant volume is a spend signal, not a supply signal. A state can look empty in your applicant tracking system simply because nobody has advertised there.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (SOC 53-3032). State estimates, May 2025. Employment figures are rounded by BLS and exclude self-employed owner-operators who are not on a payroll.