What is the real (cost-adjusted) Truck Driver salary in Mississippi?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 86.8 for Mississippi), the real-wage equivalent is $58,416 — what the $50,700 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $46,744 to $71,239.

How are Mississippi Truck Driver salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

What does the top of the Truck Driver pay scale look like in Mississippi?

The 90th percentile lands at $81,560. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $61,830.

How many Truck Drivers does Mississippi employ?

BLS OES counts 25,490 Truck Drivers employed in Mississippi in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

How wide is the wage spread in Mississippi?

P10 to P90 spans $33,670 to $81,560. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Mississippi?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Mississippi.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Mississippi Truck Driver Salary: BLS $51K Median, Real $58K (2026)

TL;DR

Median Truck Driver salary in Mississippi: $50,700 nominal, $58,416 real (BEA RPP basis).
State ranks #43 nationally on nominal wage, #27 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.
Low BEA RPP (86.8) means the paycheck stretches further than the BLS number suggests; net lift roughly $7,716.
Wage envelope: $33,670 (P10) to $81,560 (P90), with quartiles at $40,570 and $61,830.

Wage breakdown — Mississippi

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$33,670	$38,794
P25 (lower quartile)	$40,570	$46,744
P50 (median)	$50,700	$58,416
P75 (upper quartile)	$61,830	$71,239
P90 (top tier)	$81,560	$93,972
Mean	$55,240	$63,646
Employment	25,490 Truck Drivers in Mississippi

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Mississippi index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	86.8
Goods	94.4
Services	83.5
Rents	54.9

Mississippi sits below the national baseline (RPP 86.8), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 54.9.

After-tax take-home — Mississippi (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Truck Driver)	$50,700	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$3,946	7.8% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,536	4.0% above $10K (2026, HB 1733)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$3,879	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$41,339	81.5% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$47,630	÷ (86.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Mississippi state-tax burden means for Truck Driver take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $41,339 (81.5% of gross). After the 86.8 RPP, real take-home is $47,630.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $57,440 for Truck Drivers with mean pay of $58,400 and total employment of 2,070,480. Mississippi sits at #43 on nominal pay and #27 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Mississippi climbs 16 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Truck Driver salary in Mississippi?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 86.8 for Mississippi), the real-wage equivalent is $58,416 — what the $50,700 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $46,744 to $71,239.
How are Mississippi Truck Driver salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
What does the top of the Truck Driver pay scale look like in Mississippi?: The 90th percentile lands at $81,560. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $61,830.
How many Truck Drivers does Mississippi employ?: BLS OES counts 25,490 Truck Drivers employed in Mississippi in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
How wide is the wage spread in Mississippi?: P10 to P90 spans $33,670 to $81,560. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Mississippi?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Mississippi.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 53-3032, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Mississippi Truck Driver pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.