If you’ve grown tired of your current career, you might consider going back to school and learning a new trade. Before you devote valuable time and energy to beginning a new career, however, you want to make sure that the industry you’re switching into will provide you and your family with a good living. Fortunately, the Arizona trucking industry is very prosperous, and you can expect to make a good salary as a truck driver in Arizona.
Employment Prospects
Before you spend time and money on trucking school in Phoenix or Tucson, you should have a good idea your employment prospects in the trucking industry. You’ll be glad to know that the Phoenix, Mesa, and Glendale metropolitan area has one of the highest truck driver employment rates in the country. As Baby Boomers retire, more and more trucking jobs will be available all over the country; according to one estimate, U.S. trucking companies will hire over 100,000 drivers every year through 2016.
Average Trucker Salary
You can earn a great living as a truck driver based in Arizona. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Arizona pays truck drivers more than most other states. The average salary range for Arizona truck drivers is between $41,000 and 52,000 a year. Compare that with the national mean annual wage, which is just over $40,000.
Cost of Living in Arizona
An Arizona truck driver salary can provide you and your family with more than enough to live a comfortable life—especially since the cost of living and fuel prices in Arizona are so reasonable. Phoenix and Tucson have consumer price indexes of 50.34 and 56.92. To put those numbers into perspective, New York City has a consumer price index of 100.
If you have any questions about beginning a career as a truck driver, contact HDS Truck Driving School. You can reach our Tucson driving school at (520) 622-0419 or our Phoenix driving school at (602) 484-7901 to discover how to earn your CDL and land a lucrative job in the trucking industry.
