How Much Do Delivery Drivers Make: A Complete Guide to Driver Compensation

Delivery driver employment is expected to grow 12% by 2029 — faster than the average for all other occupations, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The pandemic fueled a growing need for drivers as consumers wanted more products and services delivered right to their door.  Labor shortages are likely affecting your ability to find drivers to employ, making understanding driver compensation vital to attracting available talent.

Driver compensation for delivery drivers depends on several factors. And, paying drivers less than they’re worth will result in a shortage of employees at your business. So, you need to understand delivery driver compensation, attract top talent, and learn how to keep employee costs low without sacrificing driver pay in order to keep your business flowing smoothly.

In this article, we cover:

• How Much Do Delivery Drivers Get Paid
• What Other Benefits Do Drivers Expect
• How to Attract Delivery Drivers to Your Business
• Don’t Lower Employee Pay to Save—Optimize Your Business Instead

How Much Do Delivery Drivers Get Paid?

In the United States, the national average for people with the job title “delivery driver” is $16.51 an hour or $34,340 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, delivery driver salary differs widely based on the type of truck they drive, where they live, and additional benefits. In addition, pay should consider whether they’re independent contractors, hourly, or salaried employees.

BLS breaks wages down by “driver/sales workers” and “light truck drivers.” For drivers/sales workers, the average salary was $27,960 in May 2020. On the other hand, light truck drivers were paid more at $37,050. However, the actual pay of an employee could go up or down depending on factors like skills and experience.

In addition, salaries vary by country. For example, according to Glassdoor, drivers in San Fransisco, California make an hourly rate of $43,335 USD per year. However, in Australia, the average delivery driver makes $29.37 AU per hour. Therefore, when looking to hire drivers, it’s important to research the minimum wage and pay scale where you plan to hire them. You’ll also want to consider how their skills and experience might affect what they deserve. 

What Other Benefits Do Drivers Expect?

To be hired, many drivers may expect time off, healthcare coverage, a retirement plan, and smaller company perks in addition to their base pay.

Time off

With very few exceptions (including the United States), governments require a minimum number of days off. This can generally be divided into paid vacation time and holiday pay. In addition, all first-world countries (the United States excluded) require some form of Maternity leave. If you plan to hire delivery drivers, offer at minimum what’s required by law, adding more to create a competitive and fair number of vacation days in your compensation package.

Healthcare coverage

Unless you live in one of the 51 countries with government-run healthcare, then you can, or may be required to, offer healthcare to your employees. For example, suppose you are a United States business with more than fifty full-time employees. In that case, you are required to offer healthcare coverage to them—however , you don’t have to offer this to part-time employees. Stay compliant and offer a competitive package by understanding local regulations surrounding health insurance.

Retirement plans

Only 56% of workers feel their company is “aging friendly,” according to the TransAmerica Centre for Retirement Studies. So to maintain your competitive edge and attract the best talent, offer some form of retirement plan, whether it’s a 401k or pension. However, be sure to read up on local laws. For example, if you operate in the UK, then you must offer a pension plan to your employees.

Additional company perks

In addition to healthcare and other important benefits, your company can offer perks like bonuses for excellent customer service or additional compensation for the number of deliveries made. If you have an office, think about keeping snacks on hand for drivers who are short on time, or add a coffee bar for those showing up early. Added perks can increase employee satisfaction without increasing business costs dramatically as over 75% of employees want perks over a raise.

How to Attract Delivery Drivers to Your Business

To get top talent to your business, you need to do more than offer a competitive compensation package. You must also advertise your position and showcase your company’s positive culture.

Show why your position is better

The rise of the gig economy has increased the need for on-demand delivery drivers, transforming businesses like GrubHub and DoorDash into your competition when it comes to hiring. To understand your competition, delivery drivers working for food delivery services like Uber Eats do not earn hourly wages. 

Rather, they make part of a delivery fee that changes based on the city. Unlike your employees, delivery drivers for delivery apps generally do not have the costs of the vehicles covered. Show why your business is better for potential employees (hint: stable income, costs covered) to gain a competitive edge when hiring.

Post your position across multiple sites

When hiring, make sure you post your delivery driver jobs across multiple locations online and physically. For example, post your job opening on both Indeed and Glassdoor. Then, attend an in-person career fair to attract talent who are attending in-person events. 

Don’t Lower Employee Pay to Save—Optimize Your Business Instead

With OptimoRoute, you can do more than just cut down on delivery driver costs. You can increase revenue across the board, allowing you to create more appealing compensation packages without lowering your bottom line. OptimoRoute has multiple features that can increase your revenue without sacrificing your employee’s happiness. 

• Optimize routes and schedules – Maximize the number of deliveries performed per truck to make sure each employee is fully utilized before bringing on another driver or truck and incurring more expenses. 
• Save on fuel – Reorder package pickups and deliveries to minimize fuel costs and recurring maintenance through route optimization. 
• Account for working hours – Track driver availability and zone to allocate packages with all delivery factors in mind. 
• Save time and send Proof of Delivery – Update driver schedules and make deliveries a breeze with a Driver mobile App that can send Proof of Delivery directly to their dispatcher and update on the go. 
• Balance workloads – Distribute deliveries evenly among everyone to make sure no employee is doing too little or too much each day. 

Start a free trial today and see how you can increase your revenue through route optimization and scheduling.