Hawaii, Rhode Island and Massachusetts are the safest states for truck drivers, according to a recent study that looked at the number of fatal semi-truck accidents per capita as well as salary and other factors to determine the best and worst states to be a trucker.
Based on 2022 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Google Trends in addition to multiple other sources, Lance Surety Bonds analyzed factors including safety, salaries, employment, job availability, industry interest and traffic to indicate where truck drivers can find the most supportive and lucrative environments and where they might encounter significant hurdles in their careers.
The report shows Hawaii had the least amount of fatal semi-truck accidents per capita at 0.14, followed by Rhode Island at 0.18 and Massachusetts at 0.2.
“Our research found that Hawaii is the worst state to be a trucker, but what’s really interesting is that the factors that resulted in this ranking are also the factors that make Hawaii the best state for trucker safety,” said Merritt Ryan of JW Surety Bonds. “We found that Hawaii has the fewest fatal semi-truck accidents per capita, and that’s largely due to the state’s geographic isolation and limited trucking routes. Hawaii’s small size and reliance on sea transport means there are limited employment opportunities and thus fewer truckers on the road.”
What makes Hawaii the best in safety makes it the worst in other areas. The state ranked at the bottom in terms of employment and job opportunities with only six per 1,000 jobs held by truckers and only 72 online job postings. It also ranked the worst in traffic congestion with 22,643 vehicles registered per interstate mile.
Conversely, Wyoming ranked among the best states for traffic congestion with only 975 vehicles registered per interstate mile while ranking the worst for safety with 4.6 fatal semi-truck accidents per capita.
“Wyoming ranks as the ninth best state to be a trucker, and it’s the state with the most interest in trucking careers. Though Wyoming does have the highest number of fatal semi-truck accidents, it also has a strong employment rate and offers a decent salary compared to other states (over $60K/year),” Ryan said. “Wyoming, Arkansas (3.4), and New Mexico (2.9) are the states with the highest number of fatal semi-truck accidents. While any number of factors could contribute to this, it is important to note that these states all have some of the highest employment rates of truckers per 1,000 jobs, meaning they have dense trucking workforces and thus, there are more semi-trucks on the roads in these states.”
Arkansas has the highest number of truckers at 27.1 per 1,000 jobs, according to the data, followed by North Dakota at 26.8 and Nebraska at 24.7, while Hawaii has the least at 6, followed by New York at 6.5 and Rhode Island at 6.9.
When it comes to job opportunities, Ohio ranked at the top with 2,160 online job postings, followed by Pennsylvania (2,017) and Texas (1,907), while Vermont (68), Hawaii (72) and Wyoming (77) had the fewest available jobs. Wyoming had some of the fewest job postings, but had the highest interest in trucking careers with 24 searches per 100,000 residents. Alaska and Delaware rounded out the top three states where interest in the career abounds, while Massachusetts, Indiana and Wisconsin had the least interest.
Alaska’s rank in interest is likely because it ranks at the top when it comes to pay. The state’s average annual salary for a truck driver is $65,870. New Jersey and Washington rounded out the top three with salaries of $64,270 and $63,160, respectively. At the bottom are West Virginia ($48,460), New Mexico ($48,890) and Louisiana ($49,780).
Overall – with all those factors combined – Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin ranked the best states to be a trucker because of robust employment opportunities, competitive salaries and relatively favorable working conditions.
While it failed to rank at the top for any of the metrics singled out, Pennsylvania, known for its extensive network of highways and trucking routes, provides ample job openings and a supportive infrastructure for truck drivers. Its online job postings totaled 2,017 with 15.1 truckers per 1,000 jobs and 3.5 searches for trucker jobs per 100,000 residents; the average annual salary totaled $56,530; and traffic congestion in the state remained relatively low on the spectrum at 5,836.5 registered vehicles per interstate mile while also maintaining a low rate of fatal semi-truck accidents at 0.7 per capita, according to the report. Ohio and Wisconsin rounded out the top three best states for truckers, while New Mexico and Louisiana rounded out the worst states.
Lincoln, Nebraska landed the top best metro area for truckers with the highest average annual salary of $77,110 and 27.45 truckers per 1,000 jobs.
