Delivery Driver Wages in Chicago, IL
34,680 light truck and delivery drivers work in the Chicago metro area. The median wage is $23.05/hour — 6.9% above the national median of $21.57, ranking #9 of 50 major metros on driver pay.
What drivers earn in Chicago
The spread matters as much as the median: the 10th-to-90th percentile range is what you compete against when hiring — and what your drivers see when they compare offers.
What a route day actually costs in Chicago
Wages aren’t your labor cost. Add payroll taxes, workers’ comp, and benefits (≈27% on top of base pay) and a median-wage driver in Chicago runs:
Driver pay is typically the largest single line in a last-mile P&L. Run your full cost structure — fuel, payments, maintenance, insurance, and Chicago-level wages — through the forecast tool to see where your margin is headed.
Compare driver pay in other metros
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), May 2025 — Light Truck Drivers (SOC 53-3033), cross-industry estimates for the Chicago metro area (CBSA 16980). Retrieved 2026-07-04. This occupation covers drivers of light trucks and delivery vans, including last-mile delivery. Annual figures are hourly × 2,080 hours. Fully-loaded cost assumes ≈27% burden for payroll taxes, workers’ comp, and benefits — Pexara’s standard modeling assumption; your burden varies by state and benefits package.