Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists salary
SOC 49-3031 · BLS OEWS May 2025
What the range looks like
A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.
- 10th
- $44,530
- 25th
- $50,540
- Median
- $61,770
- 75th
- $75,470
- 90th
- $88,740
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists earn the most
Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | State | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | $80,080 | 110.0 | 690 | 0.59× |
| 2 | Washington | $77,900 | 107.0 | 7,410 | 1.12× |
| 3 | Alaska | $75,580 | 102.4 | 860 | 1.41× |
| 4 | Maryland | $74,790 | 105.0 | 3,030 | 0.59× |
| 5 | California | $73,950 | 110.7 | 20,940 | 0.62× |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $73,270 | 105.8 | 4,870 | 0.72× |
| 7 | New Jersey | $72,340 | 108.8 | 8,160 | 1.02× |
| 8 | New Hampshire | $71,390 | 104.2 | 1,040 | 0.82× |
| 9 | Colorado | $70,480 | 103.1 | 4,600 | 0.86× |
| 10 | New York | $70,100 | 107.9 | 13,230 | 0.73× |
| 11 | Nevada | $68,410 | 100.0 | 1,990 | 0.69× |
| 12 | Connecticut | $67,300 | 103.6 | 2,860 | 0.90× |
| 13 | Rhode Island | $67,270 | 102.3 | 350 | 0.38× |
| 14 | Minnesota | $66,840 | 98.6 | 7,300 | 1.33× |
| 15 | North Dakota | $66,110 | 89.0 | 1,790 | 2.23× |
| 16 | District of Columbia | $65,200 | 109.9 | 110 | 0.08× |
| 17 | Utah | $64,350 | 98.9 | 2,690 | 0.83× |
| 18 | Illinois | $64,340 | 100.0 | 11,320 | 1.00× |
| 19 | Oregon | $63,970 | 103.4 | 3,770 | 1.03× |
| 20 | Delaware | $63,590 | 99.8 | 670 | 0.74× |
| 21 | Wisconsin | $62,450 | 94.1 | 6,750 | 1.23× |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | $61,740 | 97.6 | 12,630 | 1.12× |
| 23 | Arizona | $61,680 | 100.7 | 5,140 | 0.85× |
| 24 | Wyoming | $61,580 | 92.7 | 1,100 | 2.10× |
| 25 | Michigan | $61,420 | 96.2 | 9,020 | 1.10× |
| 26 | Georgia | $61,370 | 96.3 | 10,910 | 1.20× |
| 27 | Virginia | $61,090 | 101.1 | 8,070 | 1.05× |
| 28 | Maine | $60,850 | 97.0 | 1,380 | 1.15× |
| 29 | Indiana | $60,610 | 93.3 | 8,840 | 1.48× |
| 30 | Florida | $60,490 | 103.4 | 14,900 | 0.80× |
| 31 | Ohio | $60,470 | 92.8 | 14,240 | 1.38× |
| 32 | Montana | $59,990 | 94.6 | 1,230 | 1.29× |
| 33 | Iowa | $59,680 | 87.8 | 4,140 | 1.42× |
| 34 | Kansas | $59,460 | 90.1 | 3,300 | 1.23× |
| 35 | Vermont | $59,390 | 98.0 | 550 | 0.98× |
| 36 | Missouri | $59,360 | 90.8 | 6,780 | 1.24× |
| 37 | South Carolina | $59,330 | 93.7 | 3,360 | 0.78× |
| 38 | Idaho | $59,230 | 95.5 | 1,930 | 1.21× |
| 39 | Tennessee | $59,190 | 91.9 | 5,720 | 0.94× |
| 40 | Nebraska | $59,140 | 90.1 | 2,720 | 1.43× |
| 41 | Texas | $58,810 | 97.1 | 29,870 | 1.14× |
| 42 | Louisiana | $58,680 | 88.2 | 3,270 | 0.91× |
| 43 | South Dakota | $58,120 | 88.6 | 1,340 | 1.57× |
| 44 | North Carolina | $57,490 | 94.3 | 11,070 | 1.20× |
| 45 | New Mexico | $55,910 | 92.2 | 1,740 | 1.07× |
| 46 | Kentucky | $55,480 | 90.2 | 3,890 | 1.04× |
| 47 | Oklahoma | $55,340 | 87.8 | 3,970 | 1.25× |
| 48 | Mississippi | $54,360 | 87.0 | 3,140 | 1.45× |
| 49 | Arkansas | $52,330 | 86.9 | 4,090 | 1.68× |
| 50 | Alabama | $50,470 | 88.8 | 6,130 | 1.55× |
| 51 | West Virginia | $46,610 | 89.5 | 1,040 | 0.80× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists
The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $88,980 | 110.4 | 720 | 0.34× |
| 2 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $85,040 | 111.0 | 540 | 0.65× |
| 3 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $82,330 | 111.1 | 3,740 | 0.96× |
| 4 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $82,100 | 115.6 | 1,730 | 0.39× |
| 5 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $80,450 | 105.6 | 160 | 0.94× |
| 6 | Boulder, CO | $79,030 | 105.2 | 150 | 0.41× |
| 7 | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | $78,960 | 103.7 | 260 | 1.06× |
| 8 | Paducah, KY-IL | $78,900 | 86.1 | 190 | 2.07× |
| 9 | Bellingham, WA | $78,330 | 103.3 | 220 | 1.30× |
| 10 | Napa, CA | $78,070 | 112.6 | 60 | 0.43× |
| 11 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | $77,460 | 102.4 | 170 | 1.76× |
| 12 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $77,380 | 113.6 | 6,520 | 0.56× |
| 13 | Modesto, CA | $76,640 | 104.1 | 420 | 1.15× |
| 14 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $75,940 | 106.9 | 420 | 0.55× |
| 15 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $75,780 | 112.6 | 12,430 | 0.70× |
| 16 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $75,770 | 108.3 | 3,110 | 0.62× |
| 17 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $75,670 | 109.9 | 90 | 0.47× |
| 18 | Vallejo, CA | $75,500 | 108.5 | 200 | 0.76× |
| 19 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $75,070 | 111.9 | 1,430 | 0.50× |
| 20 | Longview-Kelso, WA | $74,750 | 97.5 | 120 | 1.58× |
| 21 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $74,730 | 110.5 | 350 | 0.58× |
| 22 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $74,620 | 108.6 | 120 | 0.55× |
| 23 | Anchorage, AK | $74,480 | 105.4 | 410 | 1.25× |
| 24 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $74,470 | 104.5 | 1,670 | 0.66× |
| 25 | Reno, NV | $74,110 | 101.0 | 470 | 0.92× |
| 26 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | $73,890 | 105.7 | 280 | 0.76× |
| 27 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $73,730 | 104.8 | 4,290 | 1.18× |
| 28 | Fairbanks-College, AK | $72,970 | 103.2 | 130 | 1.96× |
| 29 | Minot, ND | $72,800 | 87.0 | 160 | 2.52× |
| 30 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $72,800 | 105.8 | 2,770 | 0.92× |
| 31 | Savannah, GA | $72,770 | 95.2 | 1,260 | 3.40× |
| 32 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $72,660 | 106.7 | 1,190 | 0.59× |
| 33 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $72,630 | 109.4 | 60 | 0.45× |
| 34 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $72,580 | 108.9 | 2,910 | 0.50× |
| 35 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $71,990 | 105.4 | 2,330 | 1.03× |
| 36 | Worcester, MA | $71,780 | 102.5 | 660 | 1.02× |
| 37 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $71,300 | 106.4 | 3,400 | 1.06× |
| 38 | Barnstable Town, MA | $70,770 | 98.4 | 140 | 0.77× |
| 39 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $70,410 | 105.1 | 760 | 1.41× |
| 40 | El Centro, CA | $70,360 | 95.2 | 140 | 1.17× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Similar occupations
Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.
- Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics$50,620
- Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines$65,510
- Automotive Body and Related Repairers$54,890
- Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians$79,870
- Tire Repairers and Changers$37,710
- Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians$56,550
- Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics$47,880
- Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians$57,550