Bus Driver salary

Average bus driver salary

$36,879

$17.73 hourly rate

Entry-level bus driver salary
$29,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a bus driver make?

The average bus driver salary in the United States is $36,879. Bus driver salaries typically range between $29,000 and $45,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for bus drivers is $17.73 per hour.

Bus driver salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Bus drivers earn the highest average salary in Massachusetts.

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Where can a Bus Driver earn more?

Compare salary by location
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Vs
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63k
43k
23k
3k
Columbus, OH$41,569
Indianapolis, IN$32,827
Compare salary by company
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71k
51k
31k
11k
Preston High School$44,246
Topeka Public Schools$41,379

Bus Driver salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Comparably and CareerExplorer, the average salary for a bus driver typically falls between $36,879 and $51,744.
zippia
$36,879yearly
indeed[1]
$43,180yearly
comparably[2]
$51,744yearly
Salary.com[3]
$44,841yearly
CareerExplorer[4]
$41,740yearly

Average bus driver salary by state

The highest-paying states for bus drivers are Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Washington. The lowest average bus driver salary states are Oklahoma, Georgia, and Florida.

  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Highest paying states for bus drivers

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Wyoming$39,205$18.85
2Vermont$42,296$20.33
3Wisconsin$38,865$18.69
4Pennsylvania$38,108$18.32
5Connecticut$43,027$20.69
6New Hampshire$41,665$20.03
7Massachusetts$43,160$20.75
8Washington$42,308$20.34
9West Virginia$34,844$16.75
10South Dakota$35,868$17.24
11North Dakota$38,704$18.61
12New York$39,144$18.82
13Ohio$34,767$16.71
14Minnesota$37,375$17.97
15Rhode Island$38,068$18.30
16California$39,594$19.04
17Idaho$36,579$17.59
18Oregon$38,113$18.32
19Iowa$34,456$16.57
20Kentucky$33,979$16.34
21Maine$37,827$18.19
22Michigan$35,733$17.18
23New Jersey$38,851$18.68
24Alaska$39,746$19.11
25Texas$35,226$16.94
26Montana$36,853$17.72
27Alabama$33,454$16.08
28Kansas$33,551$16.13
29Arizona$35,704$17.17
30Colorado$36,877$17.73
31Arkansas$33,382$16.05
32Utah$35,517$17.08
33Nevada$34,916$16.79
34Maryland$35,971$17.29
35Indiana$32,937$15.84
36Delaware$33,917$16.31
37South Carolina$32,755$15.75
38Illinois$33,909$16.30
39Virginia$35,198$16.92
40Missouri$33,039$15.88
41New Mexico$33,418$16.07
42Oklahoma$32,159$15.46
43Louisiana$32,484$15.62
44District of Columbia$37,550$18.05
45Mississippi$30,845$14.83
46North Carolina$32,238$15.50
47Hawaii$35,663$17.15
48Georgia$32,106$15.44
49Nebraska$30,419$14.62
50Tennessee$29,210$14.04
51Florida$30,899$14.86

Highest paying cities for bus drivers

The highest-paying cities for bus drivers are Nashua, NH, Newark, CA, and Rochester, NY.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Nashua, NH$41,569$19.99
2Newark, CA$40,087$19.27
3Rochester, NY$39,583$19.03
4Newark, NJ$39,027$18.76
5Waukesha, WI$38,751$18.63
6Fargo, ND$38,584$18.55
7Portland, OR$38,161$18.35
8Philadelphia, PA$38,152$18.34
9Minneapolis, MN$37,296$17.93
10Denver, CO$36,863$17.72
11Baltimore, MD$36,043$17.33
12Peoria, AZ$35,726$17.18
13Detroit, MI$35,691$17.16
14Clearfield, UT$35,510$17.07
15Carson City, NV$35,443$17.04
16San Marcos, TX$35,225$16.94
17Newark, DE$34,063$16.38
18DeKalb, IL$33,946$16.32
19Saint Louis, MO$32,956$15.84
20Indianapolis, IN$32,827$15.78

Bus Drivers are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. Nashua, NH
  2. Newark, CA
  3. Rochester, NY
  4. Newark, NJ
  5. Waukesha, WI

Bus Driver salary details

A bus driver's salary ranges from $29,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $45,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Bus Driver Salary Graph
Average Bus Driver Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a bus driver's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$45,000$3,750$22
75th Percentile$41,000$3,417$20
Average$36,879$3,073$18
25th Percentile$32,000$2,667$15
10th Percentile$29,000$2,417$14

Highest paying bus driver jobs

The highest paying types of bus drivers are truck driver, dump truck driver, and mixer driver.

Job Title
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
Job Openings
ascdesc
School Bus Monitor$26,704$2,225$12.8427,486
Bus Attendant$27,387$2,282$13.1751,391
Bus Monitor$26,958$2,246$12.9611,422
Transportation Driver$43,236$3,603$20.791,006,562
Bus Operator$37,374$3,115$17.9765,075
Dump Truck Driver$55,857$4,655$26.85702,361

Which companies pay bus drivers the most?

Bus driver salaries at Preston High School and Spartanburg School District Three are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average bus driver salary at companies like Dublin City Schools and Irving Isd are highly competitive.

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$38,000$37,600$37,200$36,800$36,400$36,000
MaleFemale

Bus Driver salary trends

The average bus driver salary has risen by $7,635 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average bus driver earned $29,244 annually, but today, they earn $36,879 a year. That works out to a 18% change in pay for bus drivers over the last decade.

Compare bus driver salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average bus driver salary over time

Compare bus driver salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

  • National Average
  • Columbus, OH

Bus Driver salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$36,900$17.73+5.0%
2024$35,000$16.84+3.7%
2023$33,700$16.22+4.2%
2022$32,300$15.53+2.9%
2021$31,400$15.08+2.2%

Recently added bus driver salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BocesSubstitute Bus DriversAngola, NY12/18/2024$42,679
Emporia State UniversityAthletic Bus DriverEmporia, KS12/18/2024$34,811
Durango School District 9-RSmall Vehicle/Mini-Bus Driver, TransportationDurango, CO12/18/2024$44,432
Bellevue School District 405Substitute Bus Driver(SBellevue, WA12/18/2024$75,132
Walt Disney CoTransportation Bus Driver-Walt Disney WorldOrlando, FL12/17/2024$46,958
University at AlbanyBus Driver (Continuous Posting)Albany, NY12/17/2024$39,215
GreyhoundBus DriverBelleville, IL12/17/2024$50,000
GreyhoundBus DriverAttleboro, MA12/17/2024$50,000
GreyhoundBus DriverRoswell, GA12/17/2024$50,000
GreyhoundBus DriverScottsdale, AZ12/17/2024$50,000

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