How much do owner-operators make after expenses?

Owner-operators typically gross $125,000-$340,000 a year, but after fuel, insurance, maintenance, truck payments and fixed costs, net income usually lands between $60,000 and $120,000. Established operators with paid-off equipment and tight cost control clear more than $100,000. The gap between gross and net is the whole reason to run the numbers before you make the jump rather than after.

Is being an owner-operator worth it financially?

It depends on how much of the gross you keep. You need to gross roughly $150,000 a year just to match a company driver's take-home, because you are now paying for the truck, the fuel, the insurance and your own self-employment tax. Above that line the upside is real: higher ceiling, business deductions, and an asset at the end. Below it you have taken on the risk without the raise. Most operators who make it work say it took two to three years to get their costs and their freight where they needed them.

What is detention pay and when do I get it?

Detention pay covers you for waiting at a shipper or receiver beyond the free time, which is usually two hours. Rates run $15-$25 an hour. Wait five hours somewhere paying $20 an hour after two hours free and that is $60. It sounds small until you total it: drivers who claim it consistently add $4,000-$6,000 a year. Drivers who do not claim it are the reason the free-time window keeps getting longer.

How do I calculate my cost per mile?

Add your variable costs per mile (fuel divided by your MPG, plus a maintenance reserve of $0.15-$0.20) to your fixed monthly costs (truck payment, insurance, permits, health insurance, tolls) divided by the miles you run in a month. Most owner-operators land between $1.00 and $1.50 all-in. The calculator above does this from your own figures and shows what each line contributes, including what share of every mile goes to insurance.

What insurance do I need as an owner-operator?

Liability is federally mandated at $750,000-$1,000,000 depending on what you haul, and runs $800-$2,500 a month. On top of that: cargo insurance to cover the freight value, physical damage to cover your own truck, and occupational accident cover, which stands in for the workers' comp you no longer have. General liability covers the non-driving claims. What you actually need depends on your authority, your cargo and who you are hauling for, which is the conversation rather than a number.

How do I get paid more as a truck driver?

In rough order of how much they move the number: claim every extra pay line you are owed (detention, layover, stop-off), add endorsements (Hazmat, tanker and doubles/triples are worth $5,000-$10,000 a year), negotiate your rate annually rather than waiting to be offered one, take the lanes nobody wants if the premium is real, and keep the record clean, because it is what every one of the above is priced off. Changing carriers is often worth $0.10-$0.20 a mile for the same work.

Truck Driver Cost Calculator | Pay, Expenses & Cost Per Mile

Your numbers

Start with how you drive. Everything is prefilled with typical figures, so change what you know and leave the rest.

You drive someone else's truck on their authority.

What you're paid

How you're paid

Your rate per mile

Typical: $0.40 - $0.65

Miles a week

Typical: 2,000 - 3,000

Extra pay a week

Detention, layover, stop-offs, fuel surcharge, bonuses

What you earn

$76,250

a year, before tax

Gross: $76,250
A month: $6,354
A week: $1,525
Per mile: $0.61

Estimated take-home $59,475

Assumes roughly 22% goes to tax. A rough guide, not tax advice.

Based on 50 working weeks and 125,000 miles a year.

Thinking about your own authority?

Switch to the owner-operator tab to see what the truck would cost you. Insurance is usually the number people guess furthest wrong.

See what your insurance would actually cost

Two steps. We shop it across our carriers and come back with real numbers, not a range.

How you run

Garaging state

What you need quoted (optional)

Free, no obligation. Nothing on this page is submitted until you press the button.

The numbers behind the calculator

What drivers are actually paid, what a truck actually costs, and where the figures above come from.

Sources and citations

What OTR drivers earn

The average over-the-road driver makes about $83,405 a year, but the spread is wide. Northeast lanes pay $0.03 - $0.08 more a mile, and a Hazmat endorsement adds $0.02 - $0.06.

Entry-level: $45k - $55kFirst 1-2 years
Experienced: $65k - $85k3+ years
Owner-operator: $125k - $340kGross, before costs

How you get paid

Per mile — most common: $0.40 - $0.65 for company drivers, $1.25 - $2.50 for owner-operators running on their own authority. Rewards miles, so it punishes a bad dispatcher. Negotiate it annually: a clean record and two years in should be worth $0.55 or better.
Percentage of the load: Usually 25 - 30% of what the load books. Better on high-value freight and worse when rates soften, because you carry the market with the company.
Salary: $45,000 - $90,000. Predictable, and it caps you in a strong season. Most common on dedicated and regional runs.

The pay lines drivers forget to claim

These are the "Extra pay a week" field in the calculator. Together they are commonly $15,000 - $25,000 a year.

Detention: $15 - $25/hrAfter the first 2 hours waiting. $4,000 - $6,000 a year.
Layover: $50 - $100/day2-3 a month is typical. $1,800 - $2,400 a year.
Stop-off: $25 - $50/stopPer extra delivery. $2,600 - $5,200 a year.
Fuel surcharge: $150 - $300/wkVaries by carrier. $7,500 - $15,000 a year.

What an owner-operator spends

Gross of $125,000 - $340,000 usually nets $60,000 - $120,000. Most operators need to gross around $150,000 just to match a company driver's take-home.

Fuel: $0.50 - $0.70 / mile
Truck payment: $1,500 - $3,000 / month
Insurance: $800 - $2,500 / month
Maintenance reserve: $0.15 - $0.20 / mile
Permits and registration: $5,000 - $10,000 / year

Two of these move without changing how you run. Going from 6.0 to 7.0 MPG is worth over $10,000 a year at current diesel, and insurance is the only line on the list you can re-price this week.

Coverage you're expected to carry

Liability: $750,000 - $1,000,000 minimum, federally mandated
Cargo: Covers the freight value, usually $100,000 or more
Physical damage: Covers your own truck — the one that matters most if you own it
Occupational accident: Stands in for workers' comp when you're not an employee

Tax, briefly

The per diem deduction is $69 a day away from home — 250 days on the road is $17,250 off your taxable income. Owner-operators also deduct fuel, maintenance, tires, insurance premiums, truck payments or depreciation, permits and self-employed health insurance. Keep the receipts; none of this is tax advice, and a trucking accountant costs less than one missed deduction.

What does a truck really cost you to run?