Truck Driver Jobs in New York, NY
Truck drivers in New York City earn a median of about $31 an hour, and Class A night drivers at food distributors post pay above $41. Here are the current openings, followed by who is hiring across the five boroughs and how to get your CDL.
Current truck driver Openings in New York, NY
Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.
Truck Driver Work in New York
Trucking in New York City is almost all local work. Drivers run food, freight and waste on short routes through dense streets, usually at night or before dawn, then return to the same yard. Terminals and yards sit in Maspeth and Long Island City in Queens, in Brooklyn and in the Bronx, tied together by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the Long Island Expressway and the Bruckner.
Teamsters Local 813 in Long Island City represents private carting drivers, and city sanitation workers belong to the Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association, Local 831. NYC law requires a pay range in job ads, so most postings show the rate up front.
Top New York Employers Hiring Truck Drivers
These employers had truck driver openings in New York City on their own career sites this month:
- Sysco - the foodservice distributor hires night CDL A and CDL B local delivery drivers for its Metro New York operation and its Brooklyn yard.
- XPO - the less-than-truckload carrier runs home-daily Class A and Class B local driver jobs out of its Maspeth terminal in Queens.
- Royal Waste Services - the Waste Connections carting company hires Class A or B drivers for night and weekend commercial routes in the Bronx.
- NYC Department of Transportation - the city agency hires Traffic Device Maintainers who must hold or earn a Class B CDL, plus fleet workers who drive tow trucks.
- BioBus - the science-education nonprofit hires part-time drivers with a Class A or B CDL to move its mobile labs around the city.
Truck Driver Salaries in New York
- Entry level: about $24 to $30 an hour for newer drivers and Class B local routes.
- Experienced: roughly $31 to $37 an hour, with Class B carrier jobs posted at $30.91 to $34.40.
- Senior / Class A nights: $38 to $45 an hour, with posted Class A pay of $35.64 to $41.38 at XPO and $41.10 for Sysco nights.
These are estimates from federal 2025 metro wage data and current postings. Class A pays more than Class B, nights pay more than days, and carriers such as XPO add yearly step raises. Sysco advertises up to $115,000 a year at its Brooklyn yard once overtime and incentives are counted.
How to Become a Truck Driver in New York
Commercial licenses are issued by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. A Class B CDL covers single trucks over 26,000 pounds and requires you to be 18; a Class A covers tractor-trailers and requires you to be 21, though the DMV's Young Adult Training Program lets 18 to 20 year olds earn a New York-only Class A. Before your first road test you must finish federal entry-level driver training with a provider on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry, and you must keep a current DOT medical certificate on file with the DMV.
Local training includes Red Hook on the Road, the free Class B program run by Brooklyn Workforce Innovations at 621 Degraw St, plus private schools such as Sunny Truck Driving School on College Point Boulevard in Flushing and Al Sorano's Professional Truck Driving School on East Gun Hill Road in the Bronx. The city's Workforce1 Industrial and Transportation centers, at the Brooklyn Army Terminal and 14 Bruckner Blvd in the Bronx, offer free career services.
What the Job Involves
Drivers complete pre-trip and post-trip inspections, load and secure cargo, and follow a route of stops while logging hours on an electronic logging device. Delivery drivers hand-truck cases into customers and check invoices; waste drivers run fixed night routes. Backing into tight docks and staying on schedule in traffic are daily parts of the job.
Skills Employers Look For
- A valid Class A or Class B CDL with air brake privileges
- A clean driving record and a current DOT medical card
- Experience on local multi-stop routes
- Comfort with electronic logging devices and handheld scanners
- Physical stamina for loading and hand-truck deliveries
- Reliability on night shifts
Career Path and Advancement
Many New York drivers start with a Class B on a local delivery or carting route, then upgrade to Class A for higher-paying tractor work at carriers and distributors. From there the ladder runs to driver trainer, dispatcher, transportation supervisor and terminal manager. City drivers can move up civil service titles at agencies like DOT, while carriers such as XPO pay yearly step raises.
Related Careers in New York
If driving interests you, these related New York roles are close matches:
Frequently Asked Questions
What license do you need to drive a truck in New York City?
Trucks over 26,000 pounds require a commercial driver license from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. A Class B covers straight trucks such as box trucks and garbage trucks, and a Class A covers tractor-trailers.
How much do truck drivers make in New York?
The median for heavy truck drivers in the New York metro is about $31 an hour, or roughly $65,000 a year. Current postings run from about $30 an hour for Class B local work to above $41 an hour for Class A night routes.
How old do you have to be to get a CDL in New York?
You can get a Class B CDL at 18. A Class A normally requires you to be 21, but the DMV's Young Adult Training Program allows 18 to 20 year olds to earn a Class A restricted to driving within New York.
Do you need truck driving school to get a CDL?
First-time CDL applicants must complete federal entry-level driver training from a provider on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry before taking the road test. Free options exist, such as Red Hook on the Road in Brooklyn, and the Department of Sanitation runs its own CDL course for exam candidates.
How do you become a New York City sanitation worker?
Sanitation workers are hired from a civil service exam, and the Department of Sanitation requires a Class A or B CDL with tanker and air brake endorsements by your appointment date. No Sanitation Worker exam is open right now, so watch for the next announcement.
Ready to apply? Browse all Truck Driver jobs in New York, NY on LocalJobPage and apply today.