Women in trucking: how many truck drivers are women?
By Evan Davidson, truck dispatcherUpdated Sources checked
The numbers at a glance
- Women were 7.7% of U.S. truck drivers in 2025, out of 3.58 million driver/sales workers and truck drivers Table 11: Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2025 annual averagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025. Checked 2026-10-28.Open the source.
- That share is up from 5.1% in 2015 Table 11 annual averages, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2025U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025. Checked 2026-10-28.Open the source, but has been roughly flat since 2020.
- Company size matters. Women are about 10% to 10.5% of CDL drivers at small and mid-size companies and about 7% at the largest, per the 2026-27 WIT Index Women In Trucking Association Releases 2026-27 WIT Index DataWomen In Trucking Association, 2026. Checked 2026-10-28.Open the source.
- The pay gap in the broad data is wide, $795 a week for women vs $1,076 for men in 2025, but it mixes very different jobs Table 39: Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex, 2025U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025. Checked 2026-10-28.Open the source.
What percentage of truck drivers are women?
About 8%. That's the short answer from the government's own count. The Bureau of Labor Statistics runs the Current Population Survey, a monthly household survey, and publishes yearly averages by job. In 2025, women made up 7.7% of the people employed as driver/sales workers and truck drivers Table 11: Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2025 annual averagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025. Checked 2026-10-28.Open the source.
That group is broader than tractor-trailer drivers. It includes heavy truck drivers, light truck and delivery drivers, and driver/sales workers like route salespeople. So it's the best national headcount we have, but it isn't limited to CDL drivers.
The Women In Trucking Association measures it a different way. Its yearly WIT Index asks trucking companies about their own workforce. The 2026-27 edition, from about 210 respondents surveyed between November 2025 and April 2026, found women were 10% of CDL drivers at companies with fewer than 500 employees, about 10.5% at companies with 500 to 4,999, and about 7% at companies with more than 5,000 Women In Trucking Association Releases 2026-27 WIT Index DataWomen In Trucking Association, 2026. Checked 2026-10-28.Open the source.
Women truck drivers since 2015
| Year | Women's share | Total employed in the group |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 5.1% | 3,469,000 |
| 2018 | 6.6% | 3,549,000 |
| 2020 | 7.8% | 3,364,000 |
| 2021 | 7.9% | 3,487,000 |
| 2022 | 8.1% | 3,539,000 |
| 2025 | 7.7% | 3,583,000 |
How to read this chart
In headcount terms, the change is bigger than the percentages suggest. Multiply each share by the total in the group: about 177,000 women in 2015 (5.1% of 3,469,000) against about 276,000 in 2025 (7.7% of 3,583,000). That is roughly 100,000 more women behind the wheel in ten years, while the group as a whole grew only slightly.
The share of women grew by more than half between 2015 and 2022, from about one in 20 drivers to about one in 12. Since 2020 it has moved within a narrow band. Small year-to-year changes, like 8.1% in 2022 against 7.7% in 2025, are within the normal swing of a survey sample, so we don't read them as a real drop. We left 2023 and 2024 off the chart because the BLS archive tables for those years weren't reachable when we checked; we'll add them at the next update.
Why the numbers differ between sources
You'll see figures from about 5% to over 10% quoted online. Most of the difference comes from what's being counted:
| Source | What it counts | Latest figure |
|---|---|---|
| BLS Current Population Survey | Everyone employed as a driver/sales worker or truck driver, from a household survey | 7.7% (2025) |
| WIT Index | CDL drivers at the companies that answer the survey | About 7% to 10.5% by company size (2026-27) |
The BLS figure is a national estimate that includes non-CDL delivery jobs. The WIT Index covers only participating companies, which are a self-selected group. Neither is wrong; they answer slightly different questions. When you quote a number, name the source and year.
What women truck drivers earn
For full-time workers in the broad driver/sales and truck driver group, the 2025 median weekly pay was $795 for women and $1,076 for men Table 39: Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex, 2025U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025. Checked 2026-10-28.Open the source. That looks like a big gap, but the medians mix very different jobs. If more of the women in this group work local delivery or route sales, and more of the men run long haul, the gap partly reflects the job, not the person. Most driving jobs pay by the mile, the load or the hour, at the same published rate for every driver.
To see what a specific job pays over a year, run the offer through our truck driver salary calculator. For pay by job type, our types of truck drivers guide compares OTR, regional, local, dedicated and team work.
A short history of women in trucking
Women have driven trucks since trucks existed, on farms, in family businesses and in wartime jobs, but most of that work wasn't recorded. The first licensed woman on record is Lillie Elizabeth Drennan of Texas. She got her commercial truck driver's license in 1929, after the Texas Railroad Commission began regulating motor freight, and ran Drennan Truck Line for nearly 24 years, until 1952. The Handbook of Texas calls her the first licensed female truck driver and trucking-company owner in Texas, and in the United States Drennan, Lillie Elizabeth McGeeTexas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas, 2026. Checked 2026-10-28.Open the source.
Today women work across the industry, as drivers, owner-operators, dispatchers, safety managers and executives. The same WIT Index found women hold far more office and leadership roles than driving jobs, and only about 2.5% of diesel technician jobs Women In Trucking Association Releases 2026-27 WIT Index DataWomen In Trucking Association, 2026. Checked 2026-10-28.Open the source.
What women drivers say about the job
We don't have survey data on drivers' experiences that meets our sourcing rules, so we won't quote statistics here. The topics that come up most often in driver forums and industry groups are practical: safe, well-lit parking at night, clean restrooms and showers, equipment that fits drivers of every height, and respectful treatment at docks and in training. If you're considering the job, ask carriers directly how they handle trainer assignments, parking and safety concerns.
Resources for women in trucking
- Women In Trucking Association. A nonprofit that publishes the WIT Index and runs member programs.
- Carrier driver programs. Many carriers publish their training and mentoring programs on their own sites. Ask how trainers are assigned.
- Our guides. Start with how to become a truck driver, then the truck driver safety tips guide.
Methodology and update schedule
We used the BLS Current Population Survey annual averages (Table 11 for women's share, Table 39 for weekly earnings) for 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2025, as published on bls.gov and checked on October 28, 2026. The WIT Index figures come from the Women In Trucking Association's own release of the 2026-27 index. We update this page once a year, after BLS publishes the next annual averages, usually in January. For the wider picture, see our trucking industry statistics, and for what's changing in the job, our take on whether AI will replace truck drivers and the latest truck driver news.
If you're a woman running a 26 ft straight truck, see our box truck dispatch, or read how our truck dispatch service works. More data guides are in Trucks 101.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, Table 11: Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2025 annual averages (2025); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, Table 11 annual averages, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2025 (2025); Women In Trucking Association, Women In Trucking Association Releases 2026-27 WIT Index Data (2026); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, Table 39: Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex, 2025 (2025); Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas, Drennan, Lillie Elizabeth McGee (2026).
Questions people ask
What percentage of truck drivers are women?
About 8%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Current Population Survey found women were 7.7% of driver/sales workers and truck drivers in 2025. The Women In Trucking Association's 2026-27 index, which surveys companies, found women were about 7% to 10.5% of CDL drivers depending on company size. Different methods give slightly different numbers, but both put women well under one in ten drivers.
Is the number of women truck drivers growing?
Over the last decade, yes. In the Current Population Survey, women's share rose from 5.1% in 2015 to around 8% in 2021 and 2022, then held near that level, at 7.7% in 2025. Year-to-year changes are small and survey samples move around, so the long-run trend tells you more than any single year.
Do women truck drivers earn less than men?
In BLS data for 2025, the median full-time woman in the driver/sales and truck driver group earned $795 a week, against $1,076 for men. That gap doesn't account for the kind of driving each group does. Women in this broad group may be more likely to hold local delivery jobs that pay less than long-haul work. Most carriers pay drivers by the mile, load or hour at the same rate regardless of sex.
Who was the first woman truck driver?
The Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas names Lillie Elizabeth Drennan, who got a commercial truck driver's license in Texas in 1929, as the first licensed female truck driver and trucking-company owner in Texas and the United States. She ran Drennan Truck Line for nearly 24 years. Women drove trucks informally earlier, but she is the first licensed driver on record in that source.