Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
Official BLS OEWS May 2025 pay for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area — and the estimated take-home pay on the median wage under 2026 Colorado tax rules.
Take-home estimate: single filer, no dependents, no pre-tax contributions, paid biweekly, a full year of W-2 wages in Colorado; city and local taxes are not included. Full breakdown below.
The figures
The median Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area earns $63,900 a year ($30.72 an hour), according to the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (full citation in Sources). The middle half of Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO earn between $58,310 and $72,810 a year. At the ends of the distribution, the lowest-paid 10 percent earn $48,270 or less and the top 10 percent earn $82,620 or more. BLS estimates 14,320 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers jobs in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area — 8.901 of every 1,000 jobs in the area, a location quotient of 0.67 (well below the national concentration). That is 0.7% of all Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers employment in the United States (2,062,040 jobs nationally). By employment, Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO is the #23 largest of the 25 covered metro areas for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers. In aggregate, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO earn about $0.95 billion a year (BLS employment multiplied by the mean wage). At the mean wage, the engine's take-home is $53,114.14 a year, so the aggregate take-home of Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers is about $0.76 billion. BLS reports a relative standard error of 4% for this employment estimate. Ranked by median pay, Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO stands #6 of the 25 metro areas covered on this site for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers. By employment, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers is the #22 largest of the 30 covered occupations in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO. Placed against the national distribution for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO median of $63,900 falls between the national median ($58,640) and the national 75th percentile ($69,120). Across all occupations, the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO median is $62,320 a year — Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers pay is 2.5% above the area's overall median.
Wages in detail
| Wage level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | $31.79 | $66,130 |
| 10th percentile | $23.21 | $48,270 |
| 25th percentile | $28.04 | $58,310 |
| Median (50th percentile) | $30.72 | $63,900 |
| 75th percentile | $35.01 | $72,810 |
| 90th percentile | $39.72 | $82,620 |
What the wage distribution says
The top 10 percent of Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO earn 1.7 times what the bottom 10 percent earn ($82,620 against $48,270). The middle half spans $14,500 — from $58,310 to $72,810. Hourly, the 90th percentile ($39.72) is 1.71 times the 10th ($23.21). In the upper half of the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO distribution, the 75th percentile wage of $72,810 takes home $57,556.58 and the 90th percentile wage of $82,620 takes home $64,026.10 — $6,469.52 more net for $9,810 more gross. Against the median take-home of $51,420.26, the top decile keeps 1.25 times as much. The mean wage of $66,130 sits 3.5% above the median: higher-paid Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers pull the average up in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO. Among the 30 covered occupations in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers ranks #10 by median pay. In the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO wage ladder of covered occupations, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers sits between First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers at $79,120 and First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers at $59,100. Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers accounts for 0.9% of all employment in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area. The average covered metro employs 29,037 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers; Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO employs 0.5 times that.
Take-home pay on the median wage in Colorado
Single filer, no dependents, no pre-tax contributions, paid biweekly, a full year of W-2 wages in Colorado; city and local taxes are not included:
| Gross pay (annual) | $63,900.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $5,488.00 |
| Social Security (FICA) | $3,961.80 |
| Medicare (FICA) | $926.55 |
| Colorado income tax | $2,103.20 |
| Total deductions | $12,479.74 |
| Net pay (annual) | $51,420.26 |
| Net pay per biweekly paycheck | $1,977.70 |
| Total deduction rate | 19.53% of gross |
At the median, $51,420.26 of the $63,900 gross is kept ($1,977.70 per paycheck) — a deduction rate of 19.53%. The deduction rate moves with pay: 18.07% at the 10th percentile, 19.10% at the 25th percentile, 20.95% at the 75th percentile, 22.51% at the 90th percentile. Between the 25th and 75th percentile wages, annual take-home rises by $10,381.86 on a gross rise of $14,500.
The same engine at the other published points of the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO wage distribution:
| Wage point | Net per year | Net per paycheck | Deduction rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile ($48,270) | $39,549.34 | $1,521.13 | 18.07% |
| 25th percentile ($58,310) | $47,174.72 | $1,814.41 | 19.10% |
| Median ($63,900) | $51,420.26 | $1,977.70 | 19.53% |
| 75th percentile ($72,810) | $57,556.58 | $2,213.71 | 20.95% |
| 90th percentile ($82,620) | $64,026.10 | $2,462.54 | 22.51% |
Across the published distribution, take-home pay runs from $39,549.34 a year at the 10th percentile to $64,026.10 at the 90th — a spread of $24,476.76 of net pay inside one occupation and one metro area.
For scale: across all occupations, the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO median wage of $62,320 takes home $50,220.38 a year ($1,931.55 per paycheck, deduction rate 19.42%). The Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers median take-home of $51,420.26 sits $1,199.88 (2.4%) above the area-wide median take-home of $50,220.38.
Run your own numbers
Your own withholding depends on your Form W-4, your benefits and your other income — run your exact figures through the calculator:
Against the national median
Nationally, the median Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers earns $58,640 a year ($28.19 an hour). The Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO median of $63,900 is $5,260 (9.0%) above the national median.
The means rank the area the same way: $66,130 a year in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO against $59,710 nationally, a gap of $6,420 (10.8%).
Set against the whole local market, the Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers 90th percentile of $82,620 is 55% of the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO all-occupations 90th percentile ($149,200), and its 10th percentile of $48,270 is 129% of the area-wide 10th ($37,490).
| Median annual | Median hourly | Mean annual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $63,900 | $30.72 | $66,130 |
| United States | $58,640 | $28.19 | $59,710 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
$63,900 a year ($30.72 an hour), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates. The mean is $66,130 a year. Ranked by median pay, Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO stands #6 of the 25 covered metro areas for this occupation.
What is the take-home pay on $63,900 in Colorado?
About $51,420.26 a year ($1,977.70 per biweekly paycheck) for a single filer with no dependents and no pre-tax contributions, under 2026 rules — a total deduction rate of 19.53% of gross. At the 75th percentile wage of $72,810, take-home is $57,556.58.
How does pay in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO compare with the national median for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers?
The Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO median of $63,900 is $5,260 (9.0%) above the national median of $58,640 a year. At the top of the distribution, the local 90th percentile is $82,620, against a national 90th percentile of $79,380.
How much do the top 10% of Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers earn in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
$82,620 a year or more ($39.72 an hour or more), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates.
What is the take-home pay at the 90th percentile for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
On $82,620 a year, the engine gives a take-home of $64,026.10 a year ($2,462.54 per biweekly paycheck) in Colorado under the same assumptions — a deduction rate of 22.51%.
How many Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers jobs are there in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
BLS estimates 14,320 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers jobs in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metro area — 8.901 of every 1,000 jobs in the area.
How concentrated are Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers jobs in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
The location quotient is 0.67 — well below the national concentration. A quotient of 1.0 means the occupation's share of local employment equals its national share.
How much does take-home pay vary for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
From $39,549.34 a year at the 10th percentile wage ($48,270) to $64,026.10 at the 90th ($82,620), under the same single-filer assumptions in Colorado.
What is the total wage bill for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO?
About $0.95 billion a year — the BLS employment estimate of 14,320 multiplied by the mean wage of $66,130.
Sources and method
Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026 — bls.gov/oes. OEWS figures are survey estimates for May 2025, not job offers. Take-home pay is computed by this site's paycheck engine with 2026 federal and state rules; the method, and what the engine does not model, is documented in the paycheck methodology guide. Estimates only — not tax advice.