Do You Know These Stats About Truck Drivers in America?

There are about 3.5 million truck drivers currently in the U.S. They drive important cargo all around the country.

While the median wage for truck drivers is about $40,000, half earn more and half earn less. The bottom 10% of drivers earn less than $27,510 a year.

Of the the 3.5 million truck drivers in the U.S., only about 200,000 are women. That's about 5.8% of truck drivers total.

Truckers haul 70% of America's freight. That's about 10.5 billion tons hauled every year.

Truckers are estimated to drive about 3 million miles over the course of their career. At that rate, a trucker could drive back and forth from New York City to Los Angeles about 1000 times.

The average age of truckers in the U.S. is 49 years old. It's not a popular profession among millennials and those of Generation Z.

Truck driving is an incredibly common job. In 29 U.S. states, it's the most common job within the state.

Texas has the most truckers of any U.S. state, with over 175,000 of them. It's 9th in the nation when it comes to median and entry-level salaries for truckers.

On average, truck drivers earn about $40,000 a year. Of course, this depends on the company they work for and their level of experience.

Every year, it's estimated that a trucker in the U.S. drives about 125,000 miles. This distance encompasses the trip from New York City to Los Angeles over 40 times.

On average, truckers spend more than 240 nights of the year away from home. That's over 65% of the year's nights.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2017 median pay of truck drivers was $20.42 an hour. This is over $40,000 a year.

The highest 10% of truck drivers earn more than $60,000 a year. The exact number is $64,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has capped the amount of hours a driver can work at one time. They cannot work more than 14 straight hours at a time.

Drivers can legally only work 14 hours straight at a time, with a maximum of 11 hours spent driving. The rest of those hours are spent doing other tasks, like unloading cargo.

Drivers can work no more than 14 hours at a time. They also must have at least 10 hours off duty between working periods.

In one week, drivers are allowed to drive no more than 60 hours. If split evenly, that is a little more than 8 hours per day.

In an 8-day run, drivers are allowed to spend a maximum of 70 hours driving. That's just under 9 hours a day, if split evenly.

Drivers get 34 hours off between 7-8 day runs. They also often work weekends, nights and holidays.

In 2016, the largest employer of this type of trucker was truck transportation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, they employed over 46% of heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers.

Over 87% of truck accidents are the result of driver error. About 10% are the results of vehicle malfunctions, and about 2% are the result of environmental factors.

In one survey, 1/4 truck drivers reported falling asleep at the wheel in the last month. Their grueling long-haul schedules can be exhausting, which contributes to the high rate of accident and injury in the profession.

A long-haul trip is considered to be over 51 miles. These trips are responsible for 65% of fatal trucking crashes.

Truck drivers average less than 5 hours of sleep a night. In order to maintain health, most adults require 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

North Dakota is one of the best states in which to start a trucking career. The average salary of truckers in this state is $53,720.

California has one of the biggest populations of any state, so it makes sense that they have more truckers than most states. Even though more than 130,000 truckers are employed in California, their average salary is on the lower side, at under $45,000 a year.

In Georgia, the average starting salary for truckers is only about $22,000. This is one of the lowest average starting salaries in the U.S., with this number pushing past $25,000 in many states and $30,000 per year in others.

Truckers are very in demand. Employment is expected to grow 6% between 2016-2026. As the demand for goods rises, so will the demand for truck drivers to transport them.

When surveyed, 43% of drivers said they were most likely to listen to country music on the road. 63% said they listen to AM and FM radio while they drive.

65% of drivers said that eating right is a big challenge on the road. 35% also said that finding time and space to exercise is a challenge.

55% of drivers said Subway is their favorite fast-food restaurant on the road. Wendy's was the next most popular, at 34%.

Only 12% of truck drivers stay at a hotel daily while traveling for work. 35% stay at hotels once a month or less while on the road.

82% of truckers have daily email access. 84% have daily internet access.

78% of truckers prioritize hanging out with family and friends when off duty. The next most popular activity was having a relaxing dinner, which 33% said was their favorite pastime when off the road.

Trucking is expected to grow so much because it plays such an important role in how goods are transported in the U.S. There is a good chance almost everything you own was transported by truck at some point.