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Salary data · October 14, 2026

Autonomous Vehicle Operator Salary

Autonomous vehicle operators in the United States are offered a median of $27.25 an hour in open postings that state pay, and the middle half of posted rates runs $27–$34.75 an hour. That is about $56,700 a year at full time. The figures come from 14 postings by 3 employers and move as postings open and close.

Medianmidpoint of stated rates
$27.25/hr
Middle halfper hour, 25th to 75th percentile
$27–$34.75
Per yearestimate: median × 2,080 hours
$56,700
Postingswith an hourly rate, from 3 employers
14
Postings read 6 hrs ago69 open autonomous vehicle operator postings in all; 14 in the US state an hourly rate. How we count

By employer

What each employer pays autonomous vehicle operators

Each bar runs from the lowest to the highest hourly rate an employer states for this job title, and the tick marks the middle of its postings. An employer posting one range in several cities or shifts counts once toward the median.

Axis: $25/hr to $45/hrBar: lowest to highest stated rate. Tick: middle of the employer's postings. Dashed line: median across employers, $27.25/hr.

By location

Autonomous Vehicle Operator pay by state

The same postings, grouped by the state each one names, with the cities inside it. A posting that lists sites in two states counts in both.

  • Texas
    8 postings · Aledo, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Laredo and Midland
    $31–$43/hr
    Texas: $31–$43/hr across 8 postings
  • California
    4 postings · San Francisco
    $26–$27.25/hr
    California: $26–$27.25/hr across 4 postings
  • Pennsylvania
    1 posting · Pittsburgh
    $31–$38.50/hr
    Pennsylvania: $31–$38.50/hr across 1 posting
  • Arizona
    1 posting · Phoenix
    $31–$38.50/hr
    Arizona: $31–$38.50/hr across 1 posting
Axis: $25/hr to $45/hrBar: lowest to highest stated rate. Tick: middle of the postings there. Dashed line: median across employers, $27.25/hr.

Shifts and extras

What the postings say beyond the rate

  • 4 of the 14 postings with stated pay name a shift in the title: morning or day (2), afternoon, evening or swing (1) and night or overnight (1).
  • Nuro in California states $27.25/hr for its night or overnight shift against $26/hr for its morning or day and afternoon, evening or swing shifts: $1.25 an hour more at night.

Paid another way

Postings left out of the hourly figures

These state their pay, but not as a US hourly rate. They are shown as posted and never converted into the figures above.

An annual salary instead of an hourly rate

Open now

Open autonomous vehicle operator jobs

16 jobs (69 postings across their locations). The ones that state pay come first; each opens the full posting.

Autonomous Vehicle Operator pay: questions

How much does an autonomous vehicle operator make?

Open autonomous vehicle operator postings in the United States that state pay offer a median of $27.25 an hour. The middle half of posted rates falls between $27 and $34.75, and single postings range from $26 to $43. That comes from 14 postings by 3 employers, read on October 14, 2026.

How much does an autonomous vehicle operator make a year?

At 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, the median of $27.25/hr comes to about $56,700 a year before tax, and the middle half to about $56,200 to $72,300. That is our arithmetic on hourly rates, not a salary the postings state; overtime, shift premiums and part-time hours all change it. 1 open job states an annual salary instead: Autonomous Operations Specialist, Equipment Operator at Pronto ($66,000–$78,000/yr).

Which employers pay autonomous vehicle operators the most?

Waabi has the highest midpoint, $37/hr ($31–$43/hr across 1 posting). Nuro has the lowest, $26.50/hr ($26–$27.25/hr). Each employer's pay reflects its own cities, shifts and duties, so compare the postings before you apply.

Where do autonomous vehicle operators earn the most?

Among the states these postings name, Texas has the highest midpoint at $34.75/hr (8 postings) and California the lowest at $26.50/hr (4 postings). With few postings per state, a single employer can set a state's figure.

Do autonomous vehicle operators get paid more for night shifts?

Nuro in California states $27.25/hr for its night or overnight shift against $26/hr for its morning or day and afternoon, evening or swing shifts: $1.25 an hour more at night.

How many autonomous vehicle operator jobs are open right now?

16 jobs are open (69 postings counting every location). 14 US postings state an hourly rate; the others give no hourly figure, give an annual salary, or are outside the United States.

Method

How these figures are worked out

This page gathers the open postings whose titles match autonomous vehicle operator, vehicle operator, AV test operator and autonomous truck operator titles. Titles are sorted by a fixed set of word rules, so the page follows the job feeds as they change; this reading is from October 14, 2026.

Only pay a posting states counts: its own hourly range, from postings located in the United States, where the dollar figure is certainly US dollars. Each posting counts at the midpoint of its range. “Up to $X/hr” maximums are left out, and each employer’s advertised range counts once in the median and middle half however many cities or shifts post it. Medians and quartiles are rounded to the nearest 25 cents. The yearly figure multiplies an hourly rate by 2,080 hours (40 a week, 52 weeks) and is an estimate, not a stated salary.

A job title gets its own page once at least 5 US postings from 2 or more employers state an hourly rate, giving 4 or more distinct employer rates. Below that the page comes down until the postings support it. Our wider pay methodology.

More pay data