--- title: "Taxi Driver" description: "Drive a motor vehicle to transport passengers on an unplanned basis and charge a fare, usually based on a meter." canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/taxi-driver" last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z" --- # Taxi Driver **Category:** Transportation and Material Moving · **SOC code:** 53-3054 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 53-3054.00 Drive a motor vehicle to transport passengers on an unplanned basis and charge a fare, usually based on a meter. Also advertised as: Cab Driver; Taxi Cab Driver; Taxi Driver. ## At a glance - **Median annual wage:** $42,100 (BLS OEWS, May 2025) - **Median hourly wage:** $20.24/hr - **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $34,650 to $75,800, with the middle half between $37,790 and $60,960 - **Total US employment:** 41,050 - **Typical entry education:** No formal credential - **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed" - **Projected growth:** +11.5% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035) - **Annual job openings:** 20,400 openings a year - **AI-resilience score:** not scored for this occupation ## Pay National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 41,050 US jobs. | Percentile | Annual wage | | --- | --- | | 10th | $34,650 | | 25th | $37,790 | | 50th (median) | $42,100 | | 75th | $60,960 | | 90th | $75,800 | | Mean (average) | $49,930 | ### Pay by state The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there. | State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | TX | $48,740 | $50,218 | 460 | | NV | $44,800 | $44,809 | 2,980 | | CO | $43,490 | $42,202 | 60 | | NY | $41,570 | $38,519 | Not published by BLS | | NH | $41,510 | $39,850 | 80 | | CA | $39,260 | $35,459 | 3,880 | | MO | $37,560 | $41,358 | 200 | | OR | $37,120 | $35,913 | 240 | | ME | $36,960 | $38,083 | 50 | | NC | $36,950 | $39,173 | 120 | | MD | $36,900 | $35,157 | 50 | | IL | $36,770 | $36,785 | 190 | | MI | $36,670 | $38,112 | 90 | | UT | $36,390 | $36,808 | 110 | | AZ | $36,120 | $35,877 | 950 | 10 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 25 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/taxi-driver/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/taxi-driver. ## Outlook BLS projects employment to move from 204,200 in the 2025–2035 base year to 227,700 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 23,500 jobs, or +11.5%. Much faster than average: 11.5% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 20,400 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035. ## How to get in - **Typical entry education:** No formal educational credential (BLS Employment Projections). - **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed". - **Related work experience typically required:** None. - **Typical on-the-job training:** Short-term on-the-job training. ## What the work involves - Collect fares or vouchers from passengers, and make change or issue receipts as necessary. - Communicate with dispatchers by radio, telephone, or computer to exchange information and receive requests for passenger service. - Complete accident reports when necessary. - Determine fares based on trip distances and times, using taximeters and fee schedules, and announce fares to passengers. - Drive taxicabs or privately owned vehicles to transport passengers. - Follow relevant safety regulations and state laws governing vehicle operation, and ensure that passengers follow safety regulations. - Notify dispatchers or company mechanics of vehicle problems. - Perform minor vehicle repairs, such as cleaning spark plugs, or take vehicles to mechanics for servicing. ## Who it suits O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C). | Interest area | Score (1–7) | | --- | --- | | R — Realistic | 5.73 | | C — Conventional | 4.80 | | S — Social | 2.80 | | E — Enterprising | 2.49 | | I — Investigative | 1.10 | | A — Artistic | 1.00 | ### Personality fit These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job. | Type | Fit score (0–100) | | --- | --- | | ISTJ | 83.5 | | ISFJ | 82.0 | | ESTJ | 81.5 | | ESFJ | 72.0 | | ISTP | 59.3 | Best-fitting types: ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTJ. ## Related occupations O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order. - [Shuttle Driver and Chauffeur](https://nuecareer.com/careers/shuttle-driver-and-chauffeur) — median $37,290 - [Bus Driver, Transit and Intercity](https://nuecareer.com/careers/bus-driver-transit-and-intercity) — median $59,050 - [Light Truck Driver](https://nuecareer.com/careers/light-truck-driver) — median $44,860 - [Subway and Streetcar Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/subway-and-streetcar-operator) — median $86,380 - [Parking Attendant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/parking-attendant) — median $35,150 - [Bus Driver, School](https://nuecareer.com/careers/bus-driver-school) — median $47,920 - [Dispatcher](https://nuecareer.com/careers/dispatcher) — median $50,340 - [Railroad Conductor and Yardmaster](https://nuecareer.com/careers/railroad-conductor-and-yardmaster) — median $78,000 - [Driver/Sales Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/driver-sales-worker) — median $38,770 - [Courier and Messenger](https://nuecareer.com/careers/courier-and-messenger) — median $39,200 ## Sources - **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html - **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/ - **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/ - **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/ - **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area --- This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105). O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/taxi-driver