How Much Do Owner-Operators Make? A Break-Even Worksheet

October 26, 20262 min readBy ELD HUB Editorial

Short answer: There is no single number. An owner-operator's income is (revenue per mile − total cost per mile) × miles driven, and both sides vary widely by lane, equipment, fuel price, and whether you are leased on or running your own authority. The fastest way to get a real answer is to calculate your own cost per mile, then compare it with the rates you are actually being offered.

Be cautious with "owner-operators make $X" headlines: many mix gross revenue with take-home pay, or mix company drivers with owners.

Step 1: Fixed costs per month

Cost	Your number
Truck payment or lease
Trailer payment (if any)
Insurance
Permits, plates, IRP/IFTA, UCR (monthly share)
ELD, phone, software
Parking, accounting, other
Total fixed per month

Step 2: Variable costs per mile

Cost	How to estimate
Fuel	Diesel price ÷ your MPG
Maintenance & tires	Set aside a fixed amount per mile
Tolls, scales, lumpers	Average per mile from past trips
Factoring or dispatch fee	% of revenue — convert to per mile

Step 3: Worked example (illustrative numbers only)

These figures are made up to show the math, not market averages.

Fixed costs: $6,000/month
Miles: 9,000/month → fixed cost = $0.67/mile
Fuel: $4.00/gal ÷ 6.5 MPG = $0.62/mile
Maintenance & tires: $0.20/mile
Other variable: $0.08/mile
Total cost: $1.57/mile

If your average rate is $2.20/mile all-in (including deadhead miles in the mileage), profit before income tax and your own pay is ($2.20 − $1.57) × 9,000 = $5,670/month. Deadhead matters: if 15% of those 9,000 miles are empty, revenue is only earned on 7,650 miles and the result drops to about $2,700 (7,650 × $2.20 − 9,000 × $1.57).

Run your own numbers in our cost per mile calculator.

What moves the number most

Rate per loaded mile and deadhead percentage.
Fuel efficiency — a 0.5 MPG difference changes fuel cost per mile noticeably at today's prices.
Fixed-cost spread — fewer miles means each mile carries more of your truck payment and insurance.
Leased-on vs. own authority — leased-on drivers usually give up a percentage but avoid some costs; check your lease terms.
Downtime — a week in the shop still costs the full fixed amount.