How much does a Truck Driver make in Nebraska?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $57,940 for Truck Drivers in Nebraska as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $45,830 and the 75th-percentile is $71,960.

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

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 90.3 for Nebraska), the real-wage equivalent is $64,172 — what the $57,940 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $50,760 to $79,701.

How are Nebraska 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 are the limits of these Truck Driver salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Nebraska?

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 Nebraska.

OTR vs regional vs local truck driver pay in Nebraska?

BLS aggregates Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) into one figure. In Nebraska, OTR (over-the-road, multi-week trips) typically pays the highest gross — $65-90K range with experience — but on a real per-hour basis once away-from-home time is counted, regional (home weekly) and local/dedicated (home daily) routes often net comparable take-home. Local LTL and dedicated-fleet routes in Nebraska frequently pay above the BLS median when union-represented (Teamsters).

Owner-operator vs company driver in Nebraska — which actually nets more?

Gross revenue for an owner-operator in {state} can run $200K-$300K, but after truck payment, fuel, insurance, maintenance, and self-employment tax, net take-home typically lands $70-110K — modestly above company-driver pay but with substantially more risk and capital exposure. The owner-operator advantage is biggest for drivers with paid-off trucks or specialty routes (oversize, hazmat, refrigerated). Company-driver pay is the floor; owner-operator is volatile.

Truck Driver Salary in Nebraska (2026): $58K Median, BEA RPP-Adjusted

TL;DR

Headline Truck Driver pay in Nebraska is $57,940. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $64,172.
After the cost-of-living adjustment, take-home rises by $6,232 versus the BLS median — purchasing-power arbitrage.
P25-P75 spread runs $45,830 to $71,960; P10 floor $38,960, P90 ceiling $92,890.
Nominal: #25/51 · Real: #6/51 — ranking shifts by 19 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — Nebraska

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$38,960	$43,151
P25 (lower quartile)	$45,830	$50,760
P50 (median)	$57,940	$64,172
P75 (upper quartile)	$71,960	$79,701
P90 (top tier)	$92,890	$102,882
Mean	$60,150	$66,620
Employment	24,160 Truck Drivers in Nebraska

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Nebraska index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	90.3
Goods	96.5
Services	79.4
Rents	74.3

Nebraska sits below the national baseline (RPP 90.3), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 74.3.

After-tax take-home — Nebraska (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)	$57,940	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$4,815	8.3% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,254	2.46–5.84% (graduated, 3.99% top by 2027)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$4,432	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$46,438	80.1% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$51,434	÷ (90.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.9% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $46,438 (80.1% of gross). After the 90.3 RPP, real take-home is $51,434.

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. Nebraska sits at #25 on nominal pay and #6 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Nebraska climbs 19 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Truck Driver make in Nebraska?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $57,940 for Truck Drivers in Nebraska as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $45,830 and the 75th-percentile is $71,960.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Truck Driver salary in Nebraska?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 90.3 for Nebraska), the real-wage equivalent is $64,172 — what the $57,940 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $50,760 to $79,701.
How are Nebraska 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 are the limits of these Truck Driver salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Nebraska?: 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 Nebraska.
OTR vs regional vs local truck driver pay in Nebraska?: BLS aggregates Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) into one figure. In Nebraska, OTR (over-the-road, multi-week trips) typically pays the highest gross — $65-90K range with experience — but on a real per-hour basis once away-from-home time is counted, regional (home weekly) and local/dedicated (home daily) routes often net comparable take-home. Local LTL and dedicated-fleet routes in Nebraska frequently pay above the BLS median when union-represented (Teamsters).
Owner-operator vs company driver in Nebraska — which actually nets more?: Gross revenue for an owner-operator in {state} can run $200K-$300K, but after truck payment, fuel, insurance, maintenance, and self-employment tax, net take-home typically lands $70-110K — modestly above company-driver pay but with substantially more risk and capital exposure. The owner-operator advantage is biggest for drivers with paid-off trucks or specialty routes (oversize, hazmat, refrigerated). Company-driver pay is the floor; owner-operator is volatile.

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 Nebraska 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.