How much do transportation managers make in 2026?
Transportation managers sit within the BLS transportation, storage and distribution managers series, where OEWS May 2025 gives a national median of $107,230 a year ($51.55 an hour), a 10th percentile near $65,120 and a 90th percentile of $194,900. That row pools several management titles into one wage series, so it is the band rather than the midpoint that carries information. Transportation management is the mode and carrier side of the function: selecting truckload, less-than-truckload, intermodal, parcel and occasionally air or ocean, running the bid and tender process, managing carrier contracts and rates, controlling accessorial and demurrage leakage, meeting on-time delivery commitments and auditing the freight invoices at the end of it. The pay driver is the size of the freight bill under management, because a percentage point of savings on a large spend is worth more than the manager's whole salary. A second, less obvious driver is mode breadth: managers who can genuinely run intermodal and international freight as well as domestic truckload are a smaller population than employers assume. Employment is projected to grow 6.1% through 2034 with roughly 18,500 openings a year. → Full transportation manager career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $107,230 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Transportation Managers earn a national median $107,230/yr ($51.55/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 11-3071); the P10 to P90 range is $65,120 to $194,900.
- The $107,230 median comes from a pooled BLS management series covering warehouse, transportation, distribution and supply chain managers; transportation managers are one title inside a $65,120 to $194,900 band.
- Annual freight spend under management is the strongest pay predictor, because savings scale with it — a point of rate improvement on a large bill outweighs the salary line entirely.
- Mode breadth is underpriced by candidates and overvalued by employers: managers fluent in intermodal, parcel and international freight as well as truckload are genuinely scarce.
US Transportation Manager Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do transportation managers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 11-3071; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 11-3071, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a transportation manager earn at each career stage?
Transportation management pay follows spend, mode complexity and contract responsibility. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 11-3071, which spans this ladder in a single row.
By State
Which states pay transportation managers the most in 2026?
State figures are modeled estimates — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers salary-calculator state wage index — not BLS state observations, and they inherit the pooling caveat. In practice the freight geography matters more than the state wage level: managers based near major intermodal ramps, port complexes and cross-border crossings handle more complex freight and are paid for it.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($123,310), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay transportation managers the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Freight-dense metros host the largest transportation budgets and the deepest carrier markets, and they compete openly for managers with bid and contract experience.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a transportation manager’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does transportation manager pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Transportation Managers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify transportation manager wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a transportation manager actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Transportation Manager Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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