Truck Driver · Detroit, MI

41.0 hours of work

cover a month's rent on a one-bedroom in Detroit for a truck driver earning the median $28.43 an hour.

Comfortable Rank 1 of 20 for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (by rent share of take-home) · Metro median pay is 1% above this job's U.S. median

Median pay
$59,120
per year · $28.43/hr · 25,780 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
1-bedroom rent
$1,167
per month · HUD Fair Market Rent FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Take-home
$4,140
per month after federal tax + FICA
Left after rent
$2,973
per month · yours · 28% of take-home

Hours of work = monthly rent ÷ BLS median hourly wage ($1,167 ÷ $28.43). After federal taxes the same rent takes 48.9 h of take-home pay. MI state income tax isn't deducted, so real take-home is a bit higher-taxed.

EARNINGS STATEMENT FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Truck Driver
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
Rate (median, hourly)$28.43
Hours in a month173.3
Gross pay$4,927
Federal income tax−$410
Social Security + Medicare−$377
Take-home$4,140
Rent · 1BR · HUD FMR−$1,167

Rent costs

41.0 hours

of work to cover one month

STUB-01

Wages May 2025 estimates · Rent FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)

01 · Paycheck prints

A month at the median wage, line by line.

Rate $28.43 × 173.3 hours (2,080 ÷ 12) prints gross pay of $4,927.

EARNINGS STATEMENT FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Truck Driver
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
Rate (median, hourly)$28.43
Hours in a month173.3
Gross pay$4,927
Federal income tax−$410
Social Security + Medicare−$377
Take-home$4,140
Rent · 1BR · HUD FMR−$1,167

Rent costs

41.0 hours

of work to cover one month

STUB-01

Wages May 2025 estimates · Rent FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)

02 · Taxes peel off

Federal income tax and FICA come off the stub.

2026 single filer, standard deduction. State income tax is not deducted here.

Federal income tax 2026, single−$410
Social Security + Medicare−$377

Taxes · $786 · peeled

03 · Rent tears away

A strip as tall as the rent.

41.0 h

of work at $28.43/hr pays $1,167, one month of a one-bedroom in Detroit. The strip is drawn to scale: $1,167 of a $4,927 gross month (24% of stub).

Background tint · rent burden 28.2% of take-home

Rent · 1BR FMR−$1,167

Hours of work

41.0

HUD Fair Market Rent FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026) · Detroit metro

04 · What's left is yours

After tax and the 1-bedroom, this remains.

Comfortable

What's left · yours

$2,973

Take-home before rent$4,140
2BR instead (−$1,459)$2,681
vs HUD 30%-of-gross rule1.27×

05 · Floor plan

The stub becomes a one-bedroom.

Rent hatches rooms in ledger red, to scale against take-home. Toggle a 2-bedroom — both figures are precomputed HUD FMRs.

1-bedroom floor plan with rent hatched LIVING BED BATH KITCHEN

Hatched share is 28% of take-home (1BR).

06 · Street grid

How Detroit compares for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers

Hours of work to cover a one-bedroom's rent, all metros, fewest hours first.

Comfortable (rent ≤ 30% of take-home)Stretched (30–40%)Strained (> 40%)

Sorted by hours of work (1-bedroom HUD FMR ÷ median hourly wage), fewest first. Rank on the page still uses rent share of take-home.

# Metro Hours Rent Wage / hr 0 – 52 h (HUD 30% of gross)
01 Detroit 41.0 h $1,167 $28.43
02 Houston 46.1 h $1,261 $27.33
03 Minneapolis–St. Paul 46.2 h $1,427 $30.87
04 Phoenix 51.9 h $1,493 $28.74
05 Dallas–Fort Worth 53.7 h $1,536 $28.62
06 Philadelphia 54.6 h $1,558 $28.54
07 Baltimore 56.8 h $1,625 $28.59
08 Atlanta 57.0 h $1,619 $28.41
09 Riverside–San Bernardino 58.5 h $1,705 $29.13
10 Chicago 59.4 h $1,780 $29.95
11 Denver 59.6 h $1,831 $30.72
12 Seattle 63.6 h $2,180 $34.25
13 Tampa 67.8 h $1,648 $24.31
14 San Francisco 71.7 h $2,290 $31.95
15 Washington, DC 76.6 h $2,204 $28.76
16 San Diego 81.2 h $2,335 $28.74
17 Boston 81.8 h $2,518 $30.78
18 Los Angeles 82.8 h $2,402 $29.01
19 Miami 85.5 h $2,121 $24.80
20 New York 87.3 h $2,729 $31.27

The ledger

One month at the median wage, line by line, in dollars and in hours of work.

LinePer monthHours of workBasis
Gross pay$4,927173.3$59,120 ÷ 12
Federal income tax−$41014.4$4,914/yr ÷ 12
Social Security + Medicare−$37713.3$4,523/yr ÷ 12
Take-home$4,140145.6MI wage tax not deducted
Rent · 1BR FMR−$1,16741.0HUD FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Yours$2,973104.6take-home − rent

Hours = dollars ÷ $28.43; 173.3 = 2,080 hrs ÷ 12. May not sum exactly due to rounding.

Hours of work for rent, by pay level

Same $1,167 one-bedroom, different truck driver paychecks.

10th · $20.17 57.8 h
25th · $23.24 50.2 h
Median · $28.43 41.0 h
75th · $30.81 37.9 h
90th · $36.86 31.7 h

Bar scale includes the HUD 30%-of-gross line at 52.0 h (52 h rounded). Same 1-bedroom, different paychecks (BLS wage percentiles ÷ 2,080 hrs).

Take-home vs rent

Monthly take-home pay: $4,140 1-bedroom Rent $1,167 Left $2,973 2-bedroom Rent $1,459 Left $2,681

Where Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers keep more after rent

This ranking uses rent share of take-home (rank 1 of 20), not hours.

≤30% of take-home30–40%>40%30% line

Sources & method

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 — metropolitan areas — vintage: May 2025 estimates. File: oesm25ma.zip, retrieved 2026-10-06.
  2. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD USER), Fair Market Rents, FY2027 — vintage: FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026). File: FY27_FMRs.xlsx, retrieved 2026-10-05.
  3. Internal Revenue Service, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (tax year 2026 brackets, $16,100 standard deduction) and SSA's $184,500 wage base, used for the take-home estimate.
  4. HUD FMR area: Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI HUD Metro FMR Area (METRO19820M19820).
  5. Occupation: SOC 53-3032 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers.

Take-home = annual wage − 2026 federal income tax (single filer, standard deduction) − Social Security and Medicare. State and local income taxes are not deducted. Wages are May 2025 estimates; rents are HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026). Full details on the methodology page. Page data last rebuilt 2026-10-06.

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