Illinois owner-operators run some of the busiest freight lanes in the country, in and out of Chicago, Joliet and the I-80 and I-55 corridors. The freight is there. The question is what rate per mile your truck needs to make it worth hauling.
There is no single Illinois rate. There is the rate your truck needs, which comes from your costs. Below are example numbers to show the range.
Example rates for Illinois trucks
These come from our rate per mile calculator, using the Midwest average diesel price for the week of October 5, 2026 ($6.29 a gallon), typical costs for each kind of truck, 12% empty miles, $14,000 a year for insurance, $70,000 a year of take-home pay for the owner and a 10% profit margin.
- Hotshot
- cost $1.81 / mile · break-even $2.06 · target $2.28
- Box truck
- cost $2.15 / mile · break-even $2.44 · target $2.71
- Dry van
- cost $2.31 / mile · break-even $2.63 · target $2.92
- Flatbed
- cost $2.46 / mile · break-even $2.79 · target $3.10
- Reefer
- cost $2.50 / mile · break-even $2.84 · target $3.16
Cost is per mile driven. Break-even and target are per loaded mile, because brokers do not pay for empty miles. These are examples, not market rates: your truck payment, your miles and your insurance will move every one of them.
What is different about running out of Illinois
- Diesel. Illinois fuel prices sit in the Midwest region, and fuel is the largest single cost for most trucks. On the example dry van it is about 97 cents of every mile.
- Tolls. The Illinois Tollway and the routes around Chicago add up. Put your real toll spend in rather than a guess.
- Fuel tax. Illinois carriers who cross state lines file IFTA every quarter. The tax is settled in that return, so keep your miles and fuel receipts by state.
- Insurance. Where the truck is garaged and where it runs both affect the premium, and a new authority usually pays more than an established one.
New authority in Illinois
If you are just starting, you do not have an insurance price yet. The calculator handles that by showing a low and a high rate: for the example dry van, a target of about $2.85 to $3.14 a loaded mile, depending on where your insurance lands. Once you have a real quote, put it in and the range closes to one number.
Use it before you book
Once you know your break-even rate, checking a load takes seconds. The calculator's load checker takes the pay, the loaded miles and the empty miles to the pickup, and tells you to take it, negotiate or pass.