Which Georgia truck driving and equipment operation program has the lowest debt?

Southern Regional Technical College reports the lowest median federal debt, $5,677, with first-year pay of $34,746.

How much do truck driving and equipment operation graduates earn in Georgia?

The median across 14 Georgia truck driving and equipment operation certificate programs is $37,307 in the first year after graduating and $37,751 five years after.

Truck Driving and Equipment Operation (Certificate) Programs in Georgia, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many truck driving and equipment operation certificate programs are in Georgia?

14 Georgia programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 12 of them also report federal debt.

14 programs report first-year pay
12 also report federal debt
Certificate in Ground Transportation

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Georgia truck driving and equipment operation certificate program pays its graduates $37,307 in their first year, $3,774 less than the national median. Wiregrass Georgia Technical College reports the highest first-year pay ($45,696), and Southern Regional Technical College the lowest median debt ($5,677).

Median first-year pay$37,307National $41,081

Median pay after 5 years$37,751National $48,456

Median federal debt$9,500National $7,572

Debt-to-earnings26%National 18%

All 14 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Wiregrass Georgia Technical CollegeValdosta · public	$45,696	$37,148	$8,272	18%
2	Central Georgia Technical CollegeWarner Robins · public	$43,652	$53,594	Not reported	Not reported
3	West Georgia Technical CollegeWaco · public	$43,072	$56,347	$9,500	22%
4	South Georgia Technical CollegeAmericus · public	$42,551	$36,399	$9,500	22%
5	Chattahoochee Technical CollegeMarietta · public	$40,590	$48,169	$12,924	32%
6	Athens Technical CollegeAthens · public	$40,571	Not reported	$9,500	23%
7	Southern Crescent Technical CollegeGriffin · public	$37,668	$36,786	Not reported	Not reported
8	Albany Technical CollegeAlbany · public	$36,946	$40,891	$9,156	25%
9	Savannah Technical CollegeSavannah · public	$35,969	$37,064	$14,250	40%
10	Atlanta Technical CollegeAtlanta · public	$35,709	Not reported	$17,344	49%
11	Ogeechee Technical CollegeStatesboro · public	$35,427	$35,744	$15,116	43%
12	Southern Regional Technical CollegeThomasville · public	$34,746	Not reported	$5,677	16%
13	Southeastern Technical CollegeVidalia · public	$33,256	Not reported	$9,280	28%
14	Oconee Fall Line Technical CollegeSandersville · public	$33,226	$32,277	$10,407	31%

Central Georgia Technical College and Southern Crescent Technical College report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay. One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia truck driving and equipment operation program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Georgia medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 12 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Wiregrass Georgia Technical College$45,696
Central Georgia Technical College$43,652
West Georgia Technical College$43,072
South Georgia Technical College$42,551
Chattahoochee Technical College$40,590

Lowest median debt

Southern Regional Technical College$5,677
Wiregrass Georgia Technical College$8,272
Albany Technical College$9,156
Southeastern Technical College$9,280
West Georgia Technical College$9,500

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to truck driving and equipment operation, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers

$57,050

Median pay in Georgia. 74,840 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 214,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $38,150Top 10%: $77,900

Light Truck Drivers

$44,050

Median pay in Georgia. 26,050 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 107,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $28,020Top 10%: $82,790

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators

$43,210

Median pay in Georgia. 50,260 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 64,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: no formal educational credential.

Bottom 10%: $36,690Top 10%: $59,860

Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators

$47,880

Median pay in Georgia. 15,700 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 39,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $37,810Top 10%: $62,840

Common questions

Wiregrass Georgia Technical College in Valdosta reports the highest median first-year pay, $45,696. Its median federal debt is $8,272.

Truck Driving and Equipment Operation (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked75 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Georgia rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the truck driving and equipment operation certificate programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024