Bus Drivers, School salary
SOC 53-3051 · 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
- $29,240
- 25th
- $38,650
- Median
- $47,920
- 75th
- $58,430
- 90th
- $65,730
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where bus drivers, school 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 | Massachusetts | $65,170 | 105.8 | 9,330 | 0.99× |
| 2 | Washington | $63,370 | 107.0 | 9,660 | 1.05× |
| 3 | Connecticut | $61,520 | 103.6 | 7,970 | 1.81× |
| 4 | California | $61,040 | 110.7 | 16,600 | 0.35× |
| 5 | New Jersey | $59,430 | 108.8 | 13,670 | 1.23× |
| 6 | Hawaii | $59,090 | 110.0 | 630 | 0.39× |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $58,700 | 102.3 | 1,800 | 1.38× |
| 8 | New York | $56,640 | 107.9 | 38,320 | 1.53× |
| 9 | Vermont | $56,580 | 98.0 | 860 | 1.09× |
| 10 | Maryland | $56,450 | 105.0 | 9,020 | 1.26× |
| 11 | District of Columbia | $55,450 | 109.9 | 510 | 0.28× |
| 12 | Alaska | $54,200 | 102.4 | 790 | 0.93× |
| 13 | Utah | $52,890 | 98.9 | 1,920 | 0.43× |
| 14 | Colorado | $52,620 | 103.1 | 3,840 | 0.52× |
| 15 | Oregon | $51,270 | 103.4 | 5,210 | 1.02× |
| 16 | New Hampshire | $50,990 | 104.2 | 2,040 | 1.15× |
| 17 | North Dakota | $50,790 | 89.0 | 1,530 | 1.38× |
| 18 | Virginia | $50,190 | 101.1 | 12,930 | 1.21× |
| 19 | Illinois | $49,090 | 100.0 | 21,230 | 1.34× |
| 20 | Minnesota | $48,940 | 98.6 | 13,110 | 1.72× |
| 21 | Maine | $48,640 | 97.0 | 1,670 | 1.00× |
| 22 | Indiana | $48,020 | 93.3 | 11,780 | 1.42× |
| 23 | Nebraska | $47,760 | 90.1 | 2,330 | 0.88× |
| 24 | Wisconsin | $47,760 | 94.1 | 7,840 | 1.03× |
| 25 | Pennsylvania | $47,530 | 97.6 | 23,670 | 1.51× |
| 26 | Missouri | $46,880 | 90.8 | 8,970 | 1.18× |
| 27 | Michigan | $46,380 | 96.2 | 8,780 | 0.77× |
| 28 | Iowa | $46,320 | 87.8 | 4,840 | 1.20× |
| 29 | Idaho | $46,250 | 95.5 | 2,960 | 1.33× |
| 30 | Montana | $46,220 | 94.6 | 1,630 | 1.23× |
| 31 | Arizona | $46,050 | 100.7 | 5,020 | 0.60× |
| 32 | Kansas | $45,860 | 90.1 | 4,830 | 1.30× |
| 33 | Ohio | $45,860 | 92.8 | 5,540 | 0.39× |
| 34 | Wyoming | $45,520 | 92.7 | 1,360 | 1.87× |
| 35 | Arkansas | $45,500 | 86.9 | 4,340 | 1.28× |
| 36 | New Mexico | $45,470 | 92.2 | 1,870 | 0.83× |
| 37 | Georgia | $44,950 | 96.3 | 16,880 | 1.33× |
| 38 | Kentucky | $44,830 | 90.2 | 6,820 | 1.31× |
| 39 | Florida | $44,690 | 103.4 | 13,470 | 0.52× |
| 40 | Tennessee | $44,510 | 91.9 | 7,050 | 0.83× |
| 41 | Texas | $44,490 | 97.1 | 37,550 | 1.03× |
| 42 | Delaware | $42,390 | 99.8 | 1,350 | 1.08× |
| 43 | South Carolina | $39,900 | 93.7 | 5,900 | 0.99× |
| 44 | South Dakota | $39,730 | 88.6 | 1,290 | 1.09× |
| 45 | North Carolina | $37,460 | 94.3 | 12,390 | 0.97× |
| 46 | Nevada | $37,280 | 100.0 | 2,590 | 0.65× |
| 47 | Oklahoma | $36,920 | 87.8 | 3,710 | 0.84× |
| 48 | West Virginia | $33,360 | 89.5 | 4,690 | 2.58× |
| 49 | Mississippi | $30,640 | 87.0 | 3,790 | 1.26× |
| 50 | Louisiana | $29,450 | 88.2 | 6,670 | 1.33× |
| 51 | Alabama | $17,630 | 88.8 | 10,410 | 1.90× |
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 drivers, school wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for bus drivers, school
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 | $75,230 | 110.4 | 610 | 0.21× |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $73,680 | 115.6 | 2,350 | 0.38× |
| 3 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | $72,070 | 102.4 | 200 | 1.45× |
| 4 | Bellingham, WA | $69,640 | 103.3 | 300 | 1.25× |
| 5 | Napa, CA | $67,430 | 112.6 | 70 | 0.32× |
| 6 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $66,880 | 105.6 | 330 | 1.35× |
| 7 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $66,380 | 111.1 | 4,070 | 0.75× |
| 8 | Springfield, MA | $65,730 | 96.1 | 770 | 1.49× |
| 9 | Worcester, MA | $65,640 | 102.5 | 1,270 | 1.40× |
| 10 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $65,170 | 108.3 | 6,470 | 0.92× |
| 11 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $63,710 | 106.9 | 1,760 | 1.68× |
| 12 | Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $63,400 | 103.2 | 720 | 1.16× |
| 13 | Modesto, CA | $62,870 | 104.1 | 190 | 0.38× |
| 14 | El Centro, CA | $62,610 | 95.2 | 60 | 0.36× |
| 15 | Salinas, CA | $62,390 | 109.0 | 140 | 0.29× |
| 16 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $62,190 | 105.4 | 2,850 | 0.91× |
| 17 | New Haven, CT | $62,160 | 104.6 | 1,460 | 2.00× |
| 18 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $61,900 | 106.4 | 2,980 | 0.67× |
| 19 | Longview-Kelso, WA | $61,730 | 97.5 | 210 | 1.97× |
| 20 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $61,720 | 110.5 | 380 | 0.46× |
| 21 | Merced, CA | $61,580 | 98.3 | 300 | 1.44× |
| 22 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $61,580 | 113.6 | 4,090 | 0.25× |
| 23 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $61,570 | 105.1 | 260 | 0.35× |
| 24 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $61,560 | 102.7 | 2,680 | 1.73× |
| 25 | Waterbury-Shelton, CT | $61,550 | 99.8 | 930 | 2.24× |
| 26 | Pittsfield, MA | $61,330 | 95.1 | 180 | 1.21× |
| 27 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $61,220 | 111.0 | 300 | 0.26× |
| 28 | Boulder, CO | $60,950 | 105.2 | 310 | 0.62× |
| 29 | Hanford-Corcoran, CA | $60,600 | 101.6 | 60 | 0.46× |
| 30 | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | $60,460 | 103.7 | 450 | 1.35× |
| 31 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $60,440 | 111.9 | 1,160 | 0.29× |
| 32 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $60,420 | 108.8 | 350 | 0.68× |
| 33 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $60,390 | 106.7 | 600 | 0.21× |
| 34 | Barnstable Town, MA | $60,270 | 98.4 | 170 | 0.68× |
| 35 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $59,990 | 105.8 | 1,540 | 0.37× |
| 36 | Medford, OR | $59,850 | 101.4 | 270 | 1.18× |
| 37 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $59,790 | 112.6 | 29,280 | 1.19× |
| 38 | Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | $59,610 | 109.4 | 2,040 | 2.92× |
| 39 | Visalia, CA | $59,490 | 99.8 | 270 | 0.62× |
| 40 | Bend, OR | $59,330 | 103.6 | 260 | 0.92× |
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 drivers, school wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Similar occupations
Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$58,640
- Light Truck Drivers$44,860
- Driver/Sales Workers$38,770
- Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs$37,290
- Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity$59,050
- Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other$37,180
- Taxi Drivers$42,100
- Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians$35,450