Amanda Harris

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Driving jobs in 2026: what Iowans should know before getting behind the wheel

Look, if you're thinking about driving for a living around central Iowa right now, the pay's not what people think. Most local CDL haulers out of Des Moines are pulling about 48 to 52K a year, and that's after you've got your Class A, which takes about six weeks at a community college. The daily grind is long, like 11 hour days on I-80 runs, and nobody warns you how much time you spend waiting at loading docks with nothing to do. Folks who hate being alone or can't handle sitting all day, skip this. But if you're in a rural area near Council Bluffs or Marshalltown, there's steady work with grain haulers and local delivery firms, and some are even paying bonuses through 2026. Retraining into last-mile delivery or school bus driving is a solid path too, especially with the new state grant for rural drivers switching roles.