London has emerged as the best city for lorry drivers to work, according to a study by Breakwells Transport that assessed wages, job opportunities and living costs.
It used thousands of salary reports from Indeed, job availability data and cost-of-living statistics.
London provides the highest salary and job opportunities although living costs were also the highest. All round best for a career as a lorry driver proved to be Reading; it averaged the next highest wage and lowest living costs.
Top 5 Cities for HGV Drivers
- London – Score: 7.96 out of 10. As the UK’s capital, London offers unmatched salary opportunities with an average HGV driver salary of £44,311. While living costs are higher, 33.6% of a driver’s income typically goes toward non-rent expenses, leaving a significant portion of earnings available.
- Bristol – Score: 6.42. Bristol combines high salaries (£41,122) with excellent job availability and manageable living costs. Drivers spend just 28.8% of their income on living expenses, allowing them to retain more of their earnings compared to other cities.
- Birmingham – Score: 6.29. The bustling Midlands hub provides a strong job market for HGV drivers, with an average salary of £40,250 and a high number of vacancies. With only 27.7% of income spent on living costs, drivers in Birmingham benefit from a favourable balance between earnings and expenses.
- Reading – Score: 6.22. Drivers in Reading enjoy above-average salaries (£42,337) and a favourable cost-of-living ratio, spending just 26.8% of their monthly income on expenses.
- Liverpool – Score: 6.06. Liverpool provides competitive salaries (£42,042) and a thriving job market. With only 27.2% of income typically allocated to living expenses, drivers can enjoy a good standard of living in this vibrant city.
Honourable mentions go to Coventry (score of 5.63) with a high average salary of £40,750, and low percentage of income (just 27.1%) spent on living costs; Glasgow (5.30) also did well with a ‘vibrant economy and growing logistics sector’, and Stoke-on-Trent stood out for its affordability, where only 24.7% of monthly income goes toward living expenses, the lowest in the study.
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