What Light Truck Drivers earn in Clay County, MO
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $45,290: the median annual pay for Light Truck Drivers in Clay County, MO. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $21.77 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Kansas City, MO-KS metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $51,210, which is 13.1% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 8,020 people working in this occupation across the Kansas City, MO-KS metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Clay County, MO has roughly 258,122 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Light Truck Drivers in the Kansas City, MO-KS metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $30,920 a year ($14.87 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $92,480 or more ($44.46 an hour). That is a gap of $61,560 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $39,710 at the 25th percentile and $56,920 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 3.0 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: $21.77 an hour or $45,290 a year at the median for Clay County, MO. Before any deductions, that is $3,774 a month, $1,742 every two weeks and $871 each week. After taxes the same job pays $17.92 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Light Truck Drivers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Light Truck Drivers this way: "Drive a light vehicle, such as a truck or van, with a capacity of less than 26,001 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), primarily to pick up merchandise or packages from a distribution center and deliver. May load and unload vehicle."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Obey traffic laws and follow established traffic and transportation procedures"; "Inspect and maintain vehicle supplies and equipment, such as gas, oil, water, tires, lights, or brakes, to ensure that vehicles are in proper working condition"; "Report any mechanical problems encountered with vehicles"; "Present bills and receipts and collect payments for goods delivered or loaded".
Job outlook for Light Truck Drivers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 1,068,500 jobs in 2025 to 1,136,400 in 2035, a change of +6.3%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 107,200 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 10.0% of current employment each year. About 7.2% of the people in this occupation are self-employed, and wage figures cover wage and salary workers only.
Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $44,860 for this occupation; the Clay County, MO median of $45,290 is 1.0% above it.
How pay in Clay County, MO compares
Compared with the Missouri average
Pay for Light Truck Drivers in Clay County, MO is in line with the statewide figure: $45,290 locally against an employment-weighted Missouri average of $44,854, a difference of only $436 (1.0%). Within Missouri, the highest median we track for this job is $47,150 in St. Louis County, MO.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Light Truck Drivers is $44,271 across the contiguous United States. At $45,290, Clay County, MO pays $1,019 more, which is 2.3% above that benchmark. 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 Clay County, MO
Among the 550 occupations with published wages in Clay County, MO, Light Truck Drivers ranks number 415 by median pay, ahead of about 25% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Software Developers at $124,990 a year, which is $79,700 more than the median for Light 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 Light Truck Drivers earning the Clay County, MO median of $45,290, they add up to $8,019. The result is $37,271 of take-home pay a year ($3,106 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $18 goes to taxes and $82 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 17.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $29,540. 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 $3,306, an effective 7.3% 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 $2,808 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $657. FICA totals $3,465, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Missouri
Missouri income tax on this salary is $1,248 a year, or 2.8% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 38% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $104 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 Clay County, MO
IRS Statistics of Income data for Clay County, MO show an average adjusted gross income of $86,709 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 12.2% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.3%, compared with the 7.3% 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 Clay County, MO
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Clay County, MO: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $37,271 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Clay County, MO, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,366 a month ($16,392 a year), and at $1,546 for two bedrooms. For Light Truck Drivers, a one-bedroom absorbs 44.0% of take-home pay and 36.2% 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 7.6% of gross pay for Light Truck Drivers in Clay County, MO. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Missouri residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,364 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $672, for $2,036 in total. Gasoline in Missouri averages $3.03 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,403.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $23,267 a year in Clay County, MO. Subtract that from $37,271 of take-home pay and $14,005 remains, which is $1,167 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 30.9% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Clay County, MO
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Clay County, MO: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Clay County, MO, set beside the Missouri and national medians.
Property taxes in Clay County, MO
Homeowners in Clay County, MO pay a median of $2,941 a year in real estate taxes, 51% above the Missouri median of $1,948 and 6% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $275,600, the median tax bill is 1.07% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Light Truck Drivers median of $45,290, a tax bill of that size would equal 6.5% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Clay County, MO
Renters in Clay County, MO pay a median gross rent of $1,243 a month in the Census survey, 20% above the Missouri median of $1,033. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,366 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $275,600, 20% above the Missouri median of $230,300. Median household income is $88,468, 25% above the Missouri median of $70,702, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 18.5% of that income.
Commuting in Clay County, MO
Workers in Clay County, MO who travel to a workplace spend an average of 22.8 minutes each way, 3% below the Missouri average of 23.5. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 3.8 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 15.9% of workers in Clay County, MO work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Light Truck Drivers afford to live in Clay County, MO?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $45,290 that ceiling is $1,132 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,366 is $234 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $26.27 an hour; the median for Light Truck Drivers is $21.77, which is 17% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $17.92 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 17.6 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,546 a month means $773 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,116 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $21,121.
How fast you can save
At $1,167 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 9 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 18 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Light Truck Drivers pay in Clay County, MO
How much do Light Truck Drivers make per hour in Clay County, MO?
The median is $21.77 per hour, based on $45,290 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $14.87 at the 10th percentile to $44.46 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Light Truck Drivers take home after taxes in Clay County, MO?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $45,290 becomes $37,271 a year. That is $3,106 a month, $1,434 every two weeks or $717 a week.
How much tax do Light Truck Drivers pay in Clay County, MO?
Total taxes are $8,019 a year, an effective rate of 17.7%: $3,306 federal income tax, $3,465 FICA and $1,248 Missouri income tax.
Do Light Truck Drivers earn more in Clay County, MO than elsewhere in Missouri?
It is about the same. The local median of $45,290 is within 1.0% of the Missouri average of $44,854.
Can Light Truck Drivers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Clay County, MO?
A one-bedroom costs $1,366 a month against take-home pay of $3,106, which is 44.0% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,132 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Light Truck Drivers in Clay County, MO?
About $1,167 a month ($14,005 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $23,267 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Clay County, MO at the 30% guideline?
$26.27 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $16,392 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Light Truck Drivers is $21.77.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Kansas City, MO-KS 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 Missouri 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.