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

The median across 6 Pennsylvania truck driving and equipment operation certificate programs is $43,254 in the first year after graduating and $47,644 five years after.

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

Q: Which Pennsylvania truck driving and equipment operation program has the lowest debt?

Rosedale Technical College reports the lowest median federal debt, $3,325, with first-year pay of $43,415.

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

6 Pennsylvania programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

6 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Certificate in Ground Transportation

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Pennsylvania truck driving and equipment operation certificate program pays its graduates $43,254 in their first year, $2,173 more than the national median. Community College of Allegheny County reports the highest first-year pay ($59,330), and Rosedale Technical College the lowest median debt ($3,325).

Median first-year pay$43,254National $41,081

Median pay after 5 years$47,644National $48,456

Median federal debt$6,333National $7,572

Debt-to-earnings15%National 18%

All 6 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	Community College of Allegheny CountyPittsburgh · public	$59,330	Not reported	$11,000	19%
2	Fortis Institute-ScrantonScranton · private for-profit	$46,797	$47,644	$6,333	14%
3	Rosedale Technical CollegePittsburgh · private nonprofit	$43,415	$52,715	$3,325	8%
4	All-State Career SchoolEssington · private for-profit	$43,092	$44,425	$6,333	15%
5	Greater Johnstown Career and Technology CenterJohnstown · public	$41,978	$39,320	Not reported	Not reported
6	New Castle School of TradesNew Castle · private for-profit	$41,747	$51,008	$7,544	18%

Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Community College of Allegheny County$59,330
Fortis Institute-Scranton$46,797
Rosedale Technical College$43,415
All-State Career School$43,092
Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center$41,978

Lowest median debt

Rosedale Technical College$3,325
Fortis Institute-Scranton$6,333
All-State Career School$6,333
New Castle School of Trades$7,544
Community College of Allegheny County$11,000

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

$58,580

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 87,550 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $43,560Top 10%: $78,330

Light Truck Drivers

$44,120

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 42,380 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $27,560Top 10%: $82,170

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators

$47,730

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 42,110 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $38,160Top 10%: $62,510

Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators

$60,530

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 22,120 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $46,780Top 10%: $94,930

Common questions

Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh reports the highest median first-year pay, $59,330. Its median federal debt is $11,000.

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 Pennsylvania 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