Truck Driver · Miami, FL

85.5 hours of work

cover a month's rent on a one-bedroom in Miami for a truck driver earning the median $24.80 an hour.

Strained Rank 19 of 20 for Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (by rent share of take-home) · Metro median pay is 12% below this job's U.S. median

Median pay
$51,580
per year · $24.80/hr · 29,060 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
1-bedroom rent
$2,121
per month · HUD Fair Market Rent FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Take-home
$3,635
per month after federal tax + FICA
Left after rent
$1,514
per month · yours · 58% of take-home

Hours of work = monthly rent ÷ BLS median hourly wage ($2,121 ÷ $24.80). After federal taxes the same rent takes 101.1 h of take-home pay.

EARNINGS STATEMENT FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Truck Driver
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Rate (median, hourly)$24.80
Hours in a month173.3
Gross pay$4,298
Federal income tax−$334
Social Security + Medicare−$329
Take-home$3,635
Rent · 1BR · HUD FMR−$2,121

Rent costs

85.5 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 $24.80 × 173.3 hours (2,080 ÷ 12) prints gross pay of $4,298.

EARNINGS STATEMENT FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Truck Driver
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Rate (median, hourly)$24.80
Hours in a month173.3
Gross pay$4,298
Federal income tax−$334
Social Security + Medicare−$329
Take-home$3,635
Rent · 1BR · HUD FMR−$2,121

Rent costs

85.5 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 levied in this state.

Federal income tax 2026, single−$334
Social Security + Medicare−$329

Taxes · $663 · peeled

03 · Rent tears away

A strip as tall as the rent.

85.5 h

of work at $24.80/hr pays $2,121, one month of a one-bedroom in Miami. The strip is drawn to scale: $2,121 of a $4,298 gross month (49% of stub).

Background tint · rent burden 58.3% of take-home

Rent · 1BR FMR−$2,121

Hours of work

85.5

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

04 · What's left is yours

After tax and the 1-bedroom, this remains.

Strained

What's left · yours

$1,514

Take-home before rent$3,635
2BR instead (−$2,564)$1,071
vs HUD 30%-of-gross rule0.61×

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 58% of take-home (1BR).

06 · Street grid

How Miami 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$4,298173.3$51,580 ÷ 12
Federal income tax−$33413.5$4,010/yr ÷ 12
Social Security + Medicare−$32913.3$3,946/yr ÷ 12
Take-home$3,635146.6FL has no wage tax
Rent · 1BR FMR−$2,12185.5HUD FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Yours$1,51461.0take-home − rent

Hours = dollars ÷ $24.80; 173.3 = 2,080 hrs ÷ 12. May not sum exactly due to rounding.

Hours of work for rent, by pay level

Same $2,121 one-bedroom, different truck driver paychecks.

10th · $18.40 115.3 h
25th · $22.41 94.6 h
Median · $24.80 85.5 h
75th · $30.74 69.0 h
90th · $36.13 58.7 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: $3,635 1-bedroom Rent $2,121 Left $1,514 2-bedroom Rent $2,564 Left $1,071

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

This ranking uses rent share of take-home (rank 19 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: Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL HUD Metro FMR Area (METRO33100MM5000).
  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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