Taxi Drivers
SOC 53-3054 · 2024-2034
Drive a motor vehicle to transport passengers on an unplanned basis and charge a fare, usually based on a meter.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $40,119per year
- Projected openings
- 66,330
- Projected change
- +48%
- Usually needs
- No formal educational credential
Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth
The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $39,439 | 47,110 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | Not reported | 290 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | Not reported | 1,580 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | Not reported | 240 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | Not reported | 50 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | Not reported | 270 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | Not reported | 180 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | Not reported | 120 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | Not reported | 70 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | Not reported | 310 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $39,905
- A quarter earn under
- $40,119
- Half earn under
- $40,119
- Three quarters earn under
- $40,119
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $40,119
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs | $45,709 | 52,480 | +19.9% |
| Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity | $68,599 | 33,100 | +8.8% |
| Light Truck Drivers | $47,814 | 157,370 | +17.9% |
| Bus Drivers, School | $62,376 | 26,030 | +3.1% |
| Parking Attendants | $38,893 | 27,980 | +0.9% |
| Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance | $53,589 | 23,150 | +5.2% |