Free Tool
Six quick questions — your route, home time, weekly miles, freight, endorsements, and state — and we'll tell you what a CDL-A driver like you should be making in a good company in 2026. Built from real carrier pay data.
Experience is the biggest driver of your pay per mile.
How often you get home changes both your miles and your pay.
Your best guess for a normal week — this is the single biggest factor.
Specialized freight pays more per mile.
Hazmat and tanker each add real money. Pick any you have.
Pay varies by region — this fine-tunes your number.
Your estimate is ready ✓
Enter your info to see your number — and we'll match you with carriers hiring near you if you want.
We built this from real 2026 pay data researched across over 100 carriers — cents-per-mile by experience, route, freight, and endorsements, adjusted for your state, and benchmarked against what actual good carriers pay. For reference, strong 2026 OTR carriers pay roughly $0.60–$0.70 per mile for experienced solo drivers (Crete/Shaffer, Melton, Maverick, Boyd Bros, KLLM) versus $0.34–$0.49 at entry-level large fleets — about a 15% gap for the same experience. The true outer ceiling for a legitimate company-driver rate — hazmat + tanker combined, at a top-tier carrier, with years of tenure — tops out around $0.80–$0.85/mile; anything advertised well above that is usually a team-split rate (divided between two drivers), an owner-operator rate (which has to cover truck payments and fuel), or per-diem inflating the headline number. A good company also adds ~7% in accessorials (detention, stop, per-diem) and the freight market swings pay about ±10% — and 2026 has been a tightening market, with several major carriers issuing mid-year raises.
Your "good company" number is the target — what a driver with your profile should be earning at a carrier that pays fairly and keeps you loaded. If you're making noticeably less, you're likely leaving money on the table. The fastest way to fix that is to compare real offers — that's exactly what CDL Lane does.
Company CDL-A drivers in 2026 typically earn $0.48–$0.74 per mile depending on experience. Entry-level drivers at large fleets start around $0.34–$0.49/mi, while experienced solo drivers at strong carriers earn $0.60–$0.70/mi. Specialized freight (flatbed, tanker) and endorsements (hazmat) add roughly $0.03–$0.09/mi on top.
The legitimate ceiling for a W-2 solo company driver is about $0.80–$0.85 per mile — hazmat + tanker at a top-tier carrier with years of tenure. Ads well above that are usually team-split rates, owner-operator rates (which must cover the truck and fuel), or per-diem inflated numbers.
OTR usually grosses the most because of higher weekly miles ($72k–$95k+ for experienced drivers). Regional lands close behind ($68k–$85k) with weekly home time. Local is hourly (often $21–$34/hr) and trades some income for being home every night. Weekly miles matter more than the headline rate.
The estimate adjusts for your state's market, but it's an estimate — not an offer. Actual pay depends on the carrier, your record, weekly miles, and the freight market. Use it as a benchmark: if your current pay is well below the range, it's worth comparing offers.