SalaryExplorer

SOC 53-3099 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other — Michigan

Michigan · 7 metro areas compared

$33,990 /year
$16.34per hour
2,600jobs in area
−8.6%vs US median

The median wage for Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other in Michigan is $33,990 per year, 8.6% below the national median of $37,180.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $37,18010TH$26,49025TH$29,060MEDIAN$33,99075TH$35,11090TH$39,740

How pay has moved

$36,655$20,6652019202020212022202320242025$33,990
$23,330 in 2019 to $33,990 in 2025, +45.7% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow faster than average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+6.0%
Openings per year
11,100
Typical entry-level education
No formal educational credential
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

34.8% of people in this occupation work for themselves.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Michigan.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage for Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other in Michigan is $33,990 per year, 8.6% below the national median of $37,180. Pay ranges from under $26,490 at the tenth percentile to more than $39,740 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $29,060 to $35,110.

The area has 2,600 jobs in this occupation, which works out to 0.6 of every thousand jobs. Among the 51 states with published data for this occupation, Michigan ranks 36th by median wage. Ann Arbor leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $34,280. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 741st of 774 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Michigan · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$26,490−28.8%
25th$29,060−21.8%
Median (50th)$33,990−8.6%
75th$35,110−5.6%
90th$39,740+6.9%
Mean$34,410−7.5%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Highest-paying metro areas in Michigan

Median annual wage for Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Ann Arbor$34,280100
2Detroit$33,9901,440
3Flint$30,88080
4Grand Rapids$30,540160
5Bay City$29,79030
6Saginaw$29,23070
7Lansing$29,060130

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Michigan run 3.8% below the national average, so the median of $33,990 goes as far as $35,333 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 5.0% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$33,990as reported by BLS

Local price level

96.2US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$35,333US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $33,990 a year, 8.6% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $26,490 to $39,740 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 2,600 jobs in this occupation.
  • It ranks 36th of 51 states for this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Ann Arbor, at $34,280.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other in Michigan?

The median annual wage is $33,990, or $16.34 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $37,180, so pay in Michigan is 8.6% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Michigan earns more than $39,740 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $26,490 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Ann Arbor, at $34,280 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 2,600 jobs in this occupation in Michigan. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.