What Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers earn in St. Clair County, IL
The median pay for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in St. Clair County, IL is $58,240 per year, which works out to $28.00 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area, the labor market that St. Clair County, IL belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $59,810, which is 2.7% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 18,270 people working in this occupation across the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. St. Clair County, IL has roughly 253,694 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $40,540 a year ($19.49 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $79,300 or more ($38.13 an hour). That is a gap of $38,760 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $48,310 at the 25th percentile and $69,610 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.0 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $28.00 an hour or $58,240 a year at the median for St. Clair County, IL. Before any deductions, that is $4,853 a month, $2,240 every two weeks and $1,120 each week. After taxes the same job pays $22.20 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in St. Clair County, IL compares
Compared with the Illinois average
Pay in St. Clair County, IL runs $1,484 below the Illinois average of $59,724, a gap of 2.5%. A worker who moved to a better-paying part of Illinois would, on paper, gain that difference before taxes. Within Illinois, the highest median we track for this job is $62,300 in Cook County, IL.
Compared with the national average
Nationally, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers earn an employment-weighted average of $57,851 across the contiguous United States, so $58,240 in St. Clair County, IL is essentially average. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in St. Clair County, IL
Among the 578 occupations with published wages in St. Clair County, IL, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers ranks number 312 by median pay, ahead of about 46% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Software Developers at $129,030 a year, which is $70,790 more than the median for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers earning the St. Clair County, IL median of $58,240, they add up to $12,057. The result is $46,183 of take-home pay a year ($3,849 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $21 goes to taxes and $79 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 20.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $42,490. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $4,860, an effective 8.3% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $3,611 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $844. FICA totals $4,455, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Illinois
Illinois income tax on this salary is $2,742 a year, or 4.7% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 56% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $228 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for St. Clair County, IL
IRS Statistics of Income data for St. Clair County, IL show an average adjusted gross income of $76,972 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 11.7% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 7.1%, compared with the 8.3% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in St. Clair County, IL
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in St. Clair County, IL: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $46,183 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For St. Clair County, IL, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,104 a month ($13,248 a year), and at $1,349 for two bedrooms. For Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, a one-bedroom absorbs 28.7% of take-home pay and 22.8% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 5.9% of gross pay for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in St. Clair County, IL. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Illinois residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,677 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $434, for $2,110 in total. Gasoline in Illinois averages $3.18 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,471.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $20,265 a year in St. Clair County, IL. Subtract that from $46,183 of take-home pay and $25,918 remains, which is $2,160 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 44.5% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers afford to live in St. Clair County, IL?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $58,240 that ceiling is $1,456 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,104 is $352 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $21.23 an hour; the median for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers is $28.00, which is 32% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $22.20 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 11.5 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,349 a month means $675 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,154 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $31,072.
How fast you can save
At $2,160 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 5 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 10 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers pay in St. Clair County, IL
How much do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers make per hour in St. Clair County, IL?
The median is $28.00 per hour, based on $58,240 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $19.49 at the 10th percentile to $38.13 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers take home after taxes in St. Clair County, IL?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $58,240 becomes $46,183 a year. That is $3,849 a month, $1,776 every two weeks or $888 a week.
How much tax do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers pay in St. Clair County, IL?
Total taxes are $12,057 a year, an effective rate of 20.7%: $4,860 federal income tax, $4,455 FICA and $2,742 Illinois income tax.
Do Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers earn more in St. Clair County, IL than elsewhere in Illinois?
No. The local median of $58,240 is -2.5% versus the Illinois average of $59,724, a difference of $1,484 a year.
Can Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers afford a one-bedroom apartment in St. Clair County, IL?
A one-bedroom costs $1,104 a month against take-home pay of $3,849, which is 28.7% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,456 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in St. Clair County, IL?
About $2,160 a month ($25,918 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $20,265 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in St. Clair County, IL at the 30% guideline?
$21.23 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $13,248 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers is $28.00.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Illinois rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.