How much does a CDL-A job in Ohio really pay, and how much of it do you keep? We pulled the numbers from our own job database and ran them through 2026 tax rates.
What Ohio CDL-A jobs pay right now
In our database there are 61 open CDL-A jobs that hire drivers in Ohio, and 54 of them list an average pay figure from the carrier.
| Weekly pay (carrier-reported average) | |
|---|---|
| Middle of the pack (median) | $1,400 |
| Lower quarter of jobs | $1,200 or less |
| Top quarter of jobs | $1,600 or more |
Other numbers worth knowing:
- 10 of these jobs get you home daily, 22 home weekly.
- 5 are local and 15 are dedicated.
- 22 accept brand-new CDL-A drivers.
Why Ohio is different
Ohio sits within a day's drive of a big share of the US population, so Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo are full of distribution centers. That means many dedicated and home-daily jobs: store deliveries, DC-to-DC runs and yard work. Many of them start at night or very early; ask about start times before you compare pay.
What you keep after taxes
Take a driver in Ohio at the median: about $1,400 a week, 50 working weeks, so about $70,000 a year as a W-2 company driver, single, standard deduction.
| Per year | |
|---|---|
| Gross pay | $70,000 |
| Federal income tax | −$6,570 |
| Ohio state income tax | −$1,143 |
| Social Security + Medicare | −$5,355 |
| Take-home | $56,932 (about $1,139 a week) |
Ohio tax in short: in 2026 Ohio moved to a flat 2.75% on income above $26,050. The bigger surprise is city income tax: many Ohio cities charge their own wage tax (Columbus is 2.5%), and it is not in the table above. On a median paycheck that can be up to about $1,750 more a year, so use your real city when you compare offers.
For comparison, the same paycheck in Texas (no state income tax) would leave about $1,143 more a year. Want to run your own numbers, or compare two offers after taxes? Use our free pay calculator: pick your state and it shows the take-home for both offers, including 1099 jobs.
These are estimates for a single filer with no other income, before health insurance, 401(k) and local taxes. Your real numbers depend on your situation; this is not tax advice.
Where the jobs are
Browse open Ohio jobs by metro: Columbus · Toledo, or see all Ohio CDL-A jobs.
Sources: pay figures are carrier-reported averages from our job database (October 2026); federal brackets and standard deduction from the IRS 2026 inflation adjustments; state rates from the Tax Foundation's 2026 state income tax table; Social Security wage base from the SSA.
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