Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists in Oklahoma
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,656
after federal, FICA and Oklahoma tax
Tax takes
$10,684
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,581
Oklahoma costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oklahoma — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$55,340
Kept after tax
$44,656
Worth in national money
$50,581
State rank
47
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Oklahoma. The middle earner gets $55,340. That is 47 of 51 states, and about 10.41% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against other work in Oklahoma, this sits in the middle: 216 of 492 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Oklahoma does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $55,340 you keep $44,656, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $50,581 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $55,650, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists, Oklahoma sits in the lower band at $55,340, ranking 47 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 10.41%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists ranks 216 of 492 occupations in Oklahoma by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Oklahoma income tax, retained pay for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists on $55,340 is $44,656. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $50,581 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $55,650 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,250 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,340 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,130 |
| This salary | $55,340 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Oklahoma | $44,656 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,646 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,579 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $52,864 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,119 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Oklahoma earn less than $55,340. The published range is $37,250 up to $76,130, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Oklahoma's $44,656, worked from $55,340. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 216 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Oklahoma, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $50,581, the adjusted value of that $55,340 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 216 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists in Oklahoma the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,250 to $76,130. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Oklahoma take-home of $44,656, on $55,340 for work ranking 216 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 216 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Oklahoma, so $50,581 — the adjusted value of that $55,340 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 216 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,250 at the bottom tenth to $76,130 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Oklahoma sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $50,581 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Oklahoma's own levy, $44,656 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,250 to $76,130) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oklahoma rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Oklahoma's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $50,581 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $44,656 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oklahoma income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.