Pay for school bus drivers in every state, what it comes to after tax, and how far it goes after local prices and rent.
School bus drivers earn a median of $47,920 a year, or $23.04 an hour, 6.0% less than the $50,980 median for all jobs. Pay is highest in Massachusetts ($65,170) and lowest in Alabama ($17,630). The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts them as “Bus Drivers, School” (occupation code 53-3051).
Half of the 402,930 school bus drivers in the survey earn between $38,650 and $58,430. The bottom tenth earn under $29,240, the figure the Bureau itself uses as a rough guide to starting pay, and the top tenth more than $65,730. The average is $48,430.
| Nationally | Per year | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $29,240 | $14.06 |
| Bottom quarter earn less than | $38,650 | $18.58 |
| Median | $47,920 | $23.04 |
| Top quarter earn more than | $58,430 | $28.09 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $65,730 | $31.60 |
Hourly figures divide the yearly ones by 2,080 hours, the survey's own full-time year. Convert any salary.
The highest state medians are in Massachusetts ($65,170), Washington ($63,370), Connecticut ($61,520), California ($61,040) and New Jersey ($59,430). The lowest are in Alabama ($17,630), Louisiana ($29,450), Mississippi ($30,640), West Virginia ($33,360) and Oklahoma ($36,920).
Higher pay often comes with higher prices. Adjusted for each state's price level, pay goes furthest in Massachusetts ($61,622 at national prices), Connecticut ($59,377), Washington ($59,217), Vermont ($57,759) and Rhode Island ($57,391).
The most school bus drivers work in New York (38,320), Texas (37,550) and Pennsylvania (23,670). Relative to all jobs, the work is most common in West Virginia (6.7 per 1,000 jobs), Alabama (4.9) and Wyoming (4.8).
On the national median of $47,920, a single filer in a state with no income tax takes home about $40,684 a year after federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, or $1,565 every two weeks. On each state's own median and taxes, take-home ranges from $15,287 in Alabama to $53,098 in Washington. Work out your own paycheck.
The typical rent in each state's median county takes a median 40.0% of a school bus driver's gross pay, and stays under the usual 30% guideline in 5 of the 50 states and DC. With 10% down at a 7.03% mortgage rate, a single school bus driver earning the state median could afford the typical home in its median county in 0 of the 50 states and DC, under the 28% guideline. On the national median alone, that guideline stretches to about $130,456. Try it with your own numbers, or see where this pay covers the typical rent.
| Alabama | $17,630 | $8.48 | −63.2% | $19,848 | $15,287 | 93.5% | 10,410 |
| Alaska | $54,200 | $26.06 | +13.1% | $52,951 | $45,730 | 40.5% | 790 |
| Arizona | $46,050 | $22.14 | −3.9% | $45,740 | $38,030 | 43.6% | 5,020 |
| Arkansas | $45,500 | $21.87 | −5.1% | $52,337 | $37,423 | 29.0% | 4,340 |
| California | $61,040 | $29.35 | +27.4% | $55,130 | $48,958 | 48.2% | 16,600 |
| Colorado | $52,620 | $25.30 | +9.8% | $51,062 | $42,145 | 46.1% | 3,840 |
| Connecticut | $61,520 | $29.58 | +28.4% | $59,377 | $48,978 | 38.9% | 7,970 |
| Delaware | $42,390 | $20.38 | −11.5% | $42,472 | $34,274 | 53.6% | 1,350 |
| District of Columbia | $55,450 | $26.66 | +15.7% | $50,454 | $43,530 | 54.7% | 510 |
| Florida | $44,690 | $21.48 | −6.7% | $43,215 | $38,088 | 51.3% | 13,470 |
| Georgia | $44,950 | $21.61 | −6.2% | $46,680 | $36,054 | 44.7% | 16,880 |
| Hawaii | $59,090 | $28.41 | +23.3% | $53,742 | $46,277 | 64.3% | 630 |
| Idaho | $46,250 | $22.24 | −3.5% | $48,432 | $36,891 | 40.0% | 2,960 |
| Illinois | $49,090 | $23.60 | +2.4% | $49,111 | $39,194 | 29.4% | 21,230 |
| Indiana | $48,020 | $23.09 | +0.2% | $51,452 | $39,347 | 29.6% | 11,780 |
| Iowa | $46,320 | $22.27 | −3.3% | $52,779 | $37,638 | 26.8% | 4,840 |
| Kansas | $45,860 | $22.05 | −4.3% | $50,917 | $36,557 | 33.1% | 4,830 |
| Kentucky | $44,830 | $21.55 | −6.4% | $49,723 | $36,632 | 33.7% | 6,820 |
| Louisiana | $29,450 | $14.16 | −38.5% | $33,387 | $24,960 | 54.4% | 6,670 |
| Maine | $48,640 | $23.38 | +1.5% | $50,118 | $38,239 | 40.9% | 1,670 |
| Maryland | $56,450 | $27.14 | +17.8% | $53,783 | $44,909 | 41.2% | 9,020 |
| Massachusetts | $65,170 | $31.33 | +36.0% | $61,622 | $51,286 | 45.0% | 9,330 |
| Michigan | $46,380 | $22.30 | −3.2% | $48,204 | $37,475 | 34.7% | 8,780 |
| Minnesota | $48,940 | $23.53 | +2.1% | $49,624 | $38,658 | 31.5% | 13,110 |
| Mississippi | $30,640 | $14.73 | −36.1% | $35,237 | $25,974 | 56.5% | 3,790 |
| Missouri | $46,880 | $22.54 | −2.2% | $51,620 | $37,825 | 33.0% | 8,970 |
| Montana | $46,220 | $22.22 | −3.5% | $48,835 | $37,145 | 39.6% | 1,630 |
| Nebraska | $47,760 | $22.96 | −0.3% | $53,006 | $38,683 | 32.6% | 2,330 |
| Nevada | $37,280 | $17.93 | −22.2% | $37,288 | $32,134 | 58.4% | 2,590 |
| New Hampshire | $50,990 | $24.52 | +6.4% | $48,951 | $43,150 | 48.9% | 2,040 |
| New Jersey | $59,430 | $28.57 | +24.0% | $54,621 | $48,141 | 46.4% | 13,670 |
| New Mexico | $45,470 | $21.86 | −5.1% | $49,310 | $36,987 | 38.9% | 1,870 |
| New York | $56,640 | $27.23 | +18.2% | $52,483 | $44,797 | 32.8% | 38,320 |
| North Carolina | $37,460 | $18.01 | −21.8% | $39,713 | $30,784 | 51.8% | 12,390 |
| North Dakota | $50,790 | $24.42 | +6.0% | $57,094 | $42,945 | 28.6% | 1,530 |
| Ohio | $45,860 | $22.05 | −4.3% | $49,432 | $38,484 | 34.0% | 5,540 |
| Oklahoma | $36,920 | $17.75 | −23.0% | $42,030 | $30,399 | 41.2% | 3,710 |
| Oregon | $51,270 | $24.65 | +7.0% | $49,603 | $39,208 | 40.0% | 5,210 |
| Pennsylvania | $47,530 | $22.85 | −0.8% | $48,713 | $38,911 | 33.1% | 23,670 |
| Rhode Island | $58,700 | $28.22 | +22.5% | $57,391 | $47,144 | 50.4% | 1,800 |
| South Carolina | $39,900 | $19.18 | −16.7% | $42,560 | $33,127 | 45.8% | 5,900 |
| South Dakota | $39,730 | $19.10 | −17.1% | $44,849 | $34,103 | 39.1% | 1,290 |
| Tennessee | $44,510 | $21.40 | −7.1% | $48,449 | $37,944 | 40.1% | 7,050 |
| Texas | $44,490 | $21.39 | −7.2% | $45,839 | $37,928 | 39.8% | 37,550 |
| Utah | $52,890 | $25.43 | +10.4% | $53,498 | $42,324 | 39.5% | 1,920 |
| Vermont | $56,580 | $27.20 | +18.1% | $57,759 | $45,465 | 37.5% | 860 |
| Virginia | $50,190 | $24.13 | +4.7% | $49,642 | $39,879 | 43.8% | 12,930 |
| Washington | $63,370 | $30.47 | +32.2% | $59,217 | $53,098 | 34.6% | 9,660 |
| West Virginia | $33,360 | $16.04 | −30.4% | $37,275 | $28,088 | 39.7% | 4,690 |
| Wisconsin | $47,760 | $22.96 | −0.3% | $50,757 | $38,590 | 30.5% | 7,840 |
| Wyoming | $45,520 | $21.89 | −5.0% | $49,109 | $38,755 | 35.2% | 1,360 |
Click a column to sort it. “After local prices” divides the median by the state's price level (national average = 100). Take-home is for a single filer on the state median with no retirement or health deductions. Rent share is a year of the typical rent in the state's median county against the median pay. A dash means the survey publishes no figure.
Warehouse Laborer $40,240 · Stocker $37,330 · Truck Driver $58,640 · Delivery Driver $44,860 · Forklift Operator $46,420 · Flight Attendant $63,580 · Airline Pilot $232,140