Driver/Sales Workers
Also called: Driver, Driver Salesman, Route Driver, Route SalesmanDrive truck or other vehicle over established routes or within an established territory and sell or deliver goods, such as food products, including restaurant take-out items, or pick up or deliver items such as commercial laundry. May also take orders, collect payment, or stock merchandise at point of delivery.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 3 of its 11 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 7.9% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 4.3% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Driver/sales workers and truck drivers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 10.1 hires for every 10 job openings in accommodation and food services, which employs about 43% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.10.1 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $39,190 | $27,410 to $49,390 | 4,310 |
| Alaska | $48,420 | $42,990 to $54,080 | 1,270 |
| Arizona | $38,440 | $31,200 to $46,290 | 10,550 |
| Arkansas | $39,820 | $32,950 to $48,360 | 3,170 |
| California | $45,600 | $38,180 to $54,040 | 34,480 |
| Colorado | $43,420 | $35,910 to $49,040 | 10,790 |
| Connecticut | $36,730 | $34,200 to $47,390 | 3,730 |
| Delaware | $31,200 | $31,200 to $31,270 | not published |
| District of Columbia | $41,600 | $36,400 to $57,650 | 1,020 |
| Florida | $36,260 | $27,100 to $46,830 | 24,380 |
| Georgia | $40,040 | $31,210 to $50,110 | 19,150 |
| Guam | $20,630 | $19,340 to $26,810 | 240 |
| Hawaii | $31,270 | $29,120 to $50,180 | 920 |
| Idaho | $35,770 | $26,500 to $45,660 | 2,090 |
| Illinois | $38,960 | $31,200 to $48,570 | 13,680 |
| Indiana | $36,250 | $24,140 to $47,740 | 12,040 |
| Iowa | $47,120 | $28,420 to $59,010 | 4,400 |
| Kansas | $43,180 | $34,760 to $48,080 | 1,950 |
| Kentucky | $37,030 | $24,960 to $47,300 | 6,140 |
| Louisiana | $36,290 | $20,320 to $46,700 | 3,200 |
| Maine | $39,900 | $30,710 to $49,480 | 2,160 |
| Maryland | $38,500 | $31,770 to $49,030 | 11,940 |
| Massachusetts | $46,870 | $37,430 to $59,160 | 3,830 |
| Michigan | $39,610 | $28,410 to $50,140 | 15,490 |
| Minnesota | $32,980 | $29,450 to $52,250 | 9,750 |
| Mississippi | $35,480 | $30,120 to $44,710 | 2,550 |
| Missouri | $40,200 | $30,000 to $47,000 | 7,590 |
| Montana | $27,580 | $22,800 to $48,460 | 2,100 |
| Nebraska | $34,950 | $29,840 to $46,910 | 2,590 |
| Nevada | $31,760 | $25,020 to $42,900 | 4,310 |
| New Hampshire | $41,520 | $27,750 to $50,920 | 1,990 |
| New Jersey | $44,720 | $35,630 to $54,870 | 9,720 |
| New Mexico | $29,770 | $25,450 to $45,610 | 2,970 |
| New York | $42,730 | $33,890 to $51,210 | 18,990 |
| North Carolina | $36,540 | $21,550 to $48,970 | 14,530 |
| North Dakota | $38,610 | $28,400 to $59,710 | 1,740 |
| Ohio | $35,720 | $24,900 to $47,340 | 20,430 |
| Oklahoma | $29,120 | $21,890 to $43,360 | 5,110 |
| Oregon | $41,080 | $32,830 to $49,920 | 5,210 |
| Pennsylvania | $37,330 | $21,890 to $48,220 | 15,100 |
| Puerto Rico | $22,220 | $21,840 to $24,580 | 1,610 |
| Rhode Island | $34,230 | $31,200 to $49,550 | 1,260 |
| South Carolina | $22,240 | $18,130 to $39,200 | 6,430 |
| South Dakota | $45,050 | $33,810 to $57,210 | 1,050 |
| Tennessee | $42,220 | $35,730 to $45,090 | 9,620 |
| Texas | $35,850 | $23,000 to $48,520 | 40,950 |
| Utah | $26,590 | $20,910 to $48,620 | 3,050 |
| Vermont | $46,300 | $39,610 to $56,920 | 510 |
| Virginia | $37,180 | $31,050 to $47,750 | 10,780 |
| Washington | $41,570 | $35,120 to $56,460 | 5,890 |
| West Virginia | $28,790 | $21,180 to $45,540 | 2,540 |
| Wisconsin | $27,560 | $21,630 to $46,980 | 10,020 |
| Wyoming | $26,940 | $17,110 to $44,370 | 1,140 |
Nationally: $38,770. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 3 of its 11 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Drive trucks to deliver such items as food, medical supplies, or newspapers. | Not published |
| Not much | Listen to and resolve customers' complaints regarding products or services. | Not published |
| AI + software | Record sales or delivery information on daily sales or delivery record. | Not published |
| AI + software | Inform regular customers of new products or services and price changes. | Not published |
| Not much | Collect money from customers, make change, and record transactions on customer receipts. | Not published |
| Not much | Maintain trucks and food-dispensing equipment and clean inside of machines that dispense food or beverages. | Not published |
See all 11 tasks
| Not much | Arrange merchandise and sales promotion displays or issue sales promotion materials to customers. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Collect coins from vending machines, refill machines, and remove aged merchandise. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| AI + software | Write customer orders and sales contracts according to company guidelines. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Review lists of dealers, customers, or station drops and load trucks. | Not published |
| Not much | Sell food specialties, such as sandwiches and beverages, to office workers and patrons of sports events. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 11 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 11 tasks fall under 11 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #8 Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- #11 Provide information to guests, clients, or customers
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintain sales or financial records | |||
| Sell products or services | |||
| Collect fares or payments | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes | |||
| Provide information to guests, clients, or customers | |||
| Resolve personnel or operational problems | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Maintain operational records |
Show all 11 activities
| Maintain vehicles in working condition | |||
| Operate transportation equipment or vehicles | |||
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Data or a spreadsheet57%
- A document or report21%
- An explanation or answer5%
- An app or website3%
- A chart or visualization3%
How they worked with Claude
76% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for driver/sales workers specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 83,228 moves out
- 1 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 9%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 3 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 3%
- 4 Security Guards Moderate +0.9% 3%
- 5 Light Truck Drivers Moderate +6.3% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 78,959 moves in
- 1 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 5%
- 2 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 5%
- 3 Cashiers High -6.5% 4%
- 4 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 4%
- 5 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 100% not published
O*NET marks 100% of the answers as too uncertain to publish, so the parts shown don't add up to 100%.
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 16 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 14% less than high school
- 47% high school
- 23% some college
- 7% associate's
- 7% bachelor's
- 1% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Driver/sales workers and truck drivers” · 36,943 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Driver/sales workers and truck drivers”
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
>85% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a certification | <0.5% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
| a license | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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