Pay by state · 54 areas

Bus Driver, School Salary by State (2026)

Name: Bus Driver, School annual wages by US state, May 2025
Creator: NueCareer
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Bus Drivers, School earn the most in Massachusetts at $65,170 a year and the least in Alabama at $17,630 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $47,920. The table below covers all 50 states, DC, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $65,170Massachusetts
National median: $47,920BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median: $17,630Alabama
Areas reporting: 54of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for bus drivers, school

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

1Massachusetts$65,170
2Washington$63,370
3Connecticut$61,520
4California$61,040
5New Jersey$59,430

Lowest median pay

1Alabama$17,630
2Louisiana$29,450
3Mississippi$30,640
4West Virginia$33,360
5Oklahoma$36,920

All states

Bus Driver, School salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of bus drivers, school OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1	MAMassachusetts	$65,170	$54,780	$69,320	9,330	$61,622
2	WAWashington	$63,370	$56,640	$70,890	9,660	$59,217
3	CTConnecticut	$61,520	$47,490	$63,110	7,970	$59,377
4	CACalifornia	$61,040	$51,110	$70,570	16,600	$55,130
5	NJNew Jersey	$59,430	$51,160	$65,240	13,670	$54,621
6	HIHawaii	$59,090	$48,490	$64,480	630	$53,742
7	RIRhode Island	$58,700	$48,640	$62,010	1,800	$57,391
8	NYNew York	$56,640	$49,320	$62,550	38,320	$52,483
9	VTVermont	$56,580	$46,660	$57,560	860	$57,759
10	MDMaryland	$56,450	$47,190	$60,610	9,020	$53,783
11	DCDistrict of Columbia	$55,450	$53,510	$55,470	510	$50,454
12	AKAlaska	$54,200	$47,430	$54,750	790	$52,951
13	UTUtah	$52,890	$48,950	$61,250	1,920	$53,498
14	COColorado	$52,620	$47,120	$60,950	3,840	$51,062
15	OROregon	$51,270	$48,350	$61,840	5,210	$49,603
16	NHNew Hampshire	$50,990	$48,470	$57,870	2,040	$48,951
17	NDNorth Dakota	$50,790	$46,840	$62,610	1,530	$57,094
18	VAVirginia	$50,190	$46,340	$59,700	12,930	$49,642
19	ILIllinois	$49,090	$46,470	$59,110	21,230	$49,111
20	MNMinnesota	$48,940	$38,800	$55,930	13,110	$49,624
21	MEMaine	$48,640	$42,450	$52,660	1,670	$50,118
22	INIndiana	$48,020	$36,270	$56,470	11,780	$51,452
23	NENebraska	$47,760	$39,550	$56,370	2,330	$53,006
24	WIWisconsin	$47,760	$45,950	$55,010	7,840	$50,757
25	PAPennsylvania	$47,530	$39,630	$55,630	23,670	$48,713
26	MOMissouri	$46,880	$39,430	$51,220	8,970	$51,620
27	MIMichigan	$46,380	$42,100	$48,630	8,780	$48,204
28	IAIowa	$46,320	$39,330	$56,070	4,840	$52,779
29	IDIdaho	$46,250	$41,110	$48,670	2,960	$48,432
30	MTMontana	$46,220	$39,840	$48,620	1,630	$48,835
31	AZArizona	$46,050	$40,380	$48,100	5,020	$45,740
32	KSKansas	$45,860	$37,860	$48,370	4,830	$50,917
33	OHOhio	$45,860	$35,160	$47,670	5,540	$49,432
34	WYWyoming	$45,520	$41,980	$48,220	1,360	$49,109
35	ARArkansas	$45,500	$29,980	$54,170	4,340	$52,337
36	NMNew Mexico	$45,470	$37,990	$56,170	1,870	$49,310
37	GAGeorgia	$44,950	$27,570	$50,490	16,880	$46,680
38	KYKentucky	$44,830	$38,530	$48,310	6,820	$49,723
39	FLFlorida	$44,690	$38,600	$47,900	13,470	$43,215
40	TNTennessee	$44,510	$27,650	$51,150	7,050	$48,449
41	TXTexas	$44,490	$31,330	$49,030	37,550	$45,839
42	DEDelaware	$42,390	$37,890	$48,480	1,350	$42,472
43	GUGuam	$41,720	$35,040	$44,410	110	N/A
44	VIU.S. Virgin Islands	$40,120	$38,390	$50,860	50	N/A
45	SCSouth Carolina	$39,900	$30,070	$46,700	5,900	$42,560
46	SDSouth Dakota	$39,730	$36,980	$46,340	1,290	$44,849
47	NCNorth Carolina	$37,460	$35,370	$44,480	12,390	$39,713
48	NVNevada	$37,280	$37,280	$46,110	2,590	$37,288
49	OKOklahoma	$36,920	$30,510	$44,240	3,710	$42,030
50	WVWest Virginia	$33,360	$30,760	$35,290	4,690	$37,275
51	MSMississippi	$30,640	$22,350	$39,320	3,790	$35,237
52	LALouisiana	$29,450	$23,110	$46,210	6,670	$33,387
53	PRPuerto Rico	$27,950	$22,910	$30,960	1,280	N/A
54	ALAlabama	$17,630	$17,040	$18,750	10,410	$19,848

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For bus drivers, school, the adjustment does not change the leader: Massachusetts is first on raw pay and still first once prices are taken into account, at $61,622.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Bus Driver, School pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays bus drivers, school the most?

Massachusetts reports the highest median wage for bus drivers, school at $65,170 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($63,370) and Connecticut ($61,520).

Which state pays bus drivers, school the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, Alabama reports the lowest median for bus drivers, school at $17,630 a year, $47,540 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, Guam reports $41,720, U.S. Virgin Islands reports $40,120 and Puerto Rico reports $27,950.

Is the highest-paying state the best for bus drivers, school after cost of living?

Yes. Massachusetts stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $61,622 in national-average dollars from a raw $65,170. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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