The Real Cost of Being a Truck Driver in America

Being a truck driver in America is often associated with freedom, independence, beautiful highways, and the camaraderie of life on the road. But behind that image are financial and personal costs that are easy to overlook.

For OTR drivers, the job can mean spending days or even weeks away from home, planning meals around delivery schedules, sleeping in the truck, and trying to stay healthy while dealing with traffic, deadlines, and federal Hours of Service regulations.

And that lifestyle comes at a price that cannot be measured by a paycheck alone. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual wage for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers was $58,640 in May 2025. But working on the road also comes with expenses that can eat into those earnings.

How much a driver spends depends heavily on individual habits. Eating at restaurants every day instead of preparing food in the truck, paying for reserved parking instead of finding a free space, and the benefits provided by an employer can add or save hundreds of dollars each month.

And one of the biggest everyday expenses is food.

Eating on the road adds up quickly

Food expenses can vary significantly from one driver to another. Buying breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks, and snacks every day can quickly become expensive.

A hot meal on the road can easily cost more than $15. Multiply that by two or three meals a day, and food can take a substantial bite out of a driver’s monthly income.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides a useful benchmark. Transportation workers who qualify for the special meal allowance had a standard rate of $80 per day for travel within the continental United States in 2025, and $86 per day for travel outside the continental U.S.

Certain transportation workers who are subject to federal Hours of Service rules may also qualify for special tax treatment of meal expenses if they meet the applicable requirements.

Preparing food in the truck can make a major difference. A small refrigerator, microwave, air fryer, or another appliance that can safely run on the truck’s electrical system allows drivers to buy groceries instead of relying entirely on restaurants and truck-stop food.

There is also a health benefit. Keeping fruits, vegetables, lean meats, eggs, yogurt, nuts, and lower-sodium options in the truck can reduce dependence on fast food and highly processed snacks.

Up to 11 hours behind the wheel

One of the biggest challenges of long-haul trucking is the amount of time drivers spend sitting.

Under Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules, a property-carrying driver may drive for up to 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. Drivers generally cannot drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty and must take a 30-minute break after eight cumulative hours of driving without a qualifying interruption.

Those limits regulate how long someone can legally drive. They do not eliminate the health consequences of spending hours sitting behind the wheel.

A national study from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), based on a survey of 1,670 long-haul truck drivers, found that 69% were obese and 17% were severely obese. More than half also had two or more health conditions or risk factors, including high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, low physical activity, high cholesterol, or getting fewer than six hours of sleep.

NIOSH notes that obesity can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, heart disease, joint problems, back pain, and stroke, among other health conditions.

For professional drivers, staying healthy is not only about quality of life. Their health can directly affect their ability to keep working and earning a living.

Finding a place to sleep can be another challenge

After a long day behind the wheel, drivers face another problem: finding a safe place to park.

Truck parking shortages have become serious enough for the federal government to dedicate resources to expanding parking capacity across the country.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, ATA and OOIDA reported that 98% of drivers had experienced difficulty finding safe truck parking and that drivers could spend an average of about 56 minutes of available driving time looking for a parking space.

The problem can become particularly difficult at night and along heavily traveled freight corridors. When free parking is full, drivers may have to pay for a reserved space or begin looking for somewhere to stop well before their available driving hours run out.

That means drivers are not simply thinking about the road ahead. They are watching their ELD, managing delivery deadlines, tracking their remaining hours, and trying to figure out where they will safely spend the night.

The cost that never shows up on a receipt

Some of the biggest costs of long-haul trucking cannot be measured in dollars.

One of them is time away from home.

The BLS notes that long-haul truck drivers may spend days or weeks away from home and often work nights, weekends, and holidays.

That can mean missing birthdays, family celebrations, school events, holidays, and the ordinary moments of everyday family life.

Video calls and messaging make staying connected easier, but technology cannot replace being there in person. After spending days or weeks away, drivers may also have to adjust to a family routine that continued while they were gone.

That is why the real value of a trucking paycheck cannot be calculated by cents per mile alone. Food, sleep, health, personal time, and family relationships are all part of the equation.

What can truck drivers do to stay healthier on the road?

Truck drivers do not necessarily need a gym. They need opportunities to move.

Turning every break into a workout is unrealistic. A more practical approach is to take advantage of short periods of activity throughout the day.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults get at least **150 minutes of **moderate-intensity physical activity each week, such as brisk walking, along with muscle-strengthening activities at least two days a week.

Those 150 minutes do not have to happen all at once.

For a truck driver, that could mean taking three 10-minute walks during the day, walking around a truck stop when it is safe to do so, doing squats or resistance-band exercises during a break, walking while waiting for a load when the location allows it, or using a gym during a longer break.

Drivers can also make small changes inside the truck: keep water available, plan meals before leaving, cut back on sugary drinks and high-sodium foods, get enough sleep whenever possible, and stay on top of routine medical checkups.

People who have been inactive for a long time or who have chronic health conditions should talk with a healthcare professional before beginning vigorous exercise, according to the CDC.

For long-haul drivers, the truck is more than a workplace. For days or weeks at a time, it can also become a second home. But life on the road does not have to mean giving up exercise, healthier food, or preventive care.

Five or ten minutes of movement several times a day may not seem like much compared with thousands of miles behind the wheel. But over months and years, those minutes can add up to one of the most valuable investments a driver can make: better health and more quality years on and off the road.