What is the median weekly pay for hopper bottom drivers in the United States?

As of July 2026, the median weekly pay across 134 active hopper bottom job postings is $1,250. The middle half of postings pay between $1,000 and $1,450 per week.

What do the top-paying carriers offer hopper bottom drivers?

The 90th percentile of active hopper bottom postings is $1,650 per week (July 2026). Offers above that beat 9 in 10 competing postings in the United States.

How is the hopper bottom driver pay benchmark computed?

Each active job posting counts as the midpoint of its advertised weekly-pay range. Outliers are removed with an interquartile filter, percentiles are computed by nearest rank, and segments with fewer than 30 active postings are not published.

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Updated July 2026

What Companies Pay Hopper Bottom Drivers in the United States (July 2026)

Written by Lanefinder Editorial Team

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Where does your hopper bottom pay rank in the United States? This July 2026 benchmark plots the market distribution, 25th percentile to 90th, from active job postings rather than survey self-reports. Right now the median is $1,250/week, the middle half of postings pay $1,000–$1,450, and the 90th percentile sits at $1,650, across 134 active postings.

The hopper bottom pay spread in the United States right now

Median weekly pay

$1,250/wk

134 active postings · July 2026

25th: $1,00075th: $1,45090th: $1,650

Half of the United States postings pay between $1,000 and $1,450 a week; the top carriers (90th percentile) post $1,650. Find where your offer sits on the scale above.

Weekly pay distribution by hiring type in the United States

Hiring type	25th	Median	75th	Active postings
Company Driver (W2)	$1,000	$1,200	$1,410	115

Source: Lanefinder index, July 2026

What drives hopper bottom driver pay

Hopper-bottom (grain/bulk-ag) pay is shaped by harvest seasonality and regional agricultural demand. Loads concentrate around grain belts and run heavier in season, so the distribution reflects both skill and the cyclical nature of the freight.

Benchmark your offer

If applications are slow, pay is the first thing to rule out. Tell us what you're offering and we'll show you where it sits in the July 2026 distribution, and how the fastest-hiring carriers on Lanefinder structure their offers.

Get your pay benchmark

CDL driver pay by segment

Where these pay numbers come from

This benchmark reflects what carriers are actually posting right now: active job ads, each represented by the midpoint of its advertised weekly range. Outliers are excluded via interquartile filtering; percentiles are nearest-rank. Slices under 30 postings don't meet our publication bar and are omitted. Read the full methodology. Updated July 2026.