Best *major* cities with good job market for CDL A local?

You gotta look towards cities that are transportation hubs. Out of the ones you mentioned, I think I'd only look at Chicago. Dallas, Houston, Memphis, Birmingham all have decent local gigs. Someone mentioned Nashville....not so much in my opinion. Of all the cities in Tennessee, Memphis to me is your best bet for local. If you look at Birmingham, and you live within a 20 mile radius, I was told XPO will look at you. If you have flatbed or pneumatic tanker experience, Standard Logistics is an option down there as well. The only problem with the south is that while there are a decent number of local jobs, there is an even larger number of drivers coveting those jobs.

 

There's a ton of trucking jobs in Nashville and the murder rate is maybe 25% of that in Memphis. Getting killed can wreck your whole career.

 

No one mentioned Indianapolis or Columbus Ohio. Similar size, housing a bit higher in Columbus. Personally I think it’s only because most homes and neighborhoods are nicer than Indy. Both are huge hubs, especially Indy. Further south, Knoxville, Tri cities NC. Chattanooga. I’d avoid NY, NJ, Chicago, Atlanta, anywhere north of I-70, I-40 preferably. Too cold. Currently freezing my ### off in Mi. Life’s too short. Warm weather is calling my name.

 

My guess is he'll stick to the Northeast.

 

I'm sorry...what???

What nightlife there is in SF basically consists of going to the same two three places somewhere on or just off Phillips Ave—which may not be a problem for the OP (or anyone else) depending on how old/young one is. But the nightlife faux pas aside, I can and will vouch for Sioux Falls as a great place a/ to live and b/ to find trucking work. As isolated as it is, it's also a regional hub which means you can basically take your pick of the local litter so long as you have the proper endorsements. Or, if one prefers endorsement-less work, there's plenty of that, too. And as previously mentioned, no state income tax. (That near-7% grocery tax will get you, though.) Life is a lot less stressful there...if you can a/ deal with the winters there (acquired/learned taste, I know) and b/ relative isolation meaning much smaller total number of people, particularly of dating age.(It is also ridiculously easy to transfer residency and a CDL in SD, too.)

I will also vouch heavily for Indianapolis. It may as well be Chicago-lite in terms of regional transportation logistics, but aside from that, and especially these days (compared to at least a decade ago), Indy probably offers the best blend of cosmopolitan lifestyle, overall affordability, and CDL-A work. All of this is not to mention that Indy is within about a 5-hour drive to dang near 70% of the population of the eastern half of the U.S., so if you wanna road trip, you won't have to go far. Indy has also come a LONG way in terms of cultural diversity (for some, that's important) and overall amenities. Yes it has a state tax, but that's not always a bad thing if the overall tax rate is rather low(ish)—as is the case here in Oklahoma, and much of that also depends on ever tax bracket you fall into based on your income. In OK it averages a little over 21% based on an $60K salary and a little over 24% on an $80K salary. (Overall tax rate is the total—federal, applicable state and local/municipality, plus FICA and social security, and in some instances, certain other local taxes like sales [gas, grocery, etc.] and property taxes).

And I vouch for both places from personal experience. That same experience is also why I do NOT vouch for Nashville...unless you feel like playing bumper cars with all the idiots being stuck in traffic on a daily basis with no real easy commute to speak of...

 

Ehh....funny thing about that is that Speedway (technically it's own self-contained hamlet within the city limits but still may as well be congruent with the limits—anyway, it's the neighborhood where the Indy Motor Speedway is located) really only comes alive twice (really once) per year. The Indy 500 weekend is definitely a big deal...big parade and everything. The Brickyard 400...not so much. Other than that, its just sitting there empty all year while life goes on around it.

Now, I will tell you this: if you like sports, Indy is definitely the place. You don't necessarily have to be a fan of the Colts or Pacers, but you'll probably find yourself following both because both are pretty easy to like...and then there's all the sports that pass thru town in the name of collegiate tournaments and other events (and up until a year or two ago, the NFL scouting combine). Indy is a BIG sports town. (Also, the NCAA Hall of Champions is there, so that's another thing worth checking out.)

 

I can see the Raiders facilities, in Las Vegas, from my living room window.
I don't even like sports or NASCAR. Now, I got all that out of my system!

 

I’ve seen some fairly good paying local stuff in southern NH which is a tax free state. Check around Manchester.