Bus Drivers, School in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,611
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$12,479
21.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,916
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — 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
$59,090
Kept after tax
$46,611
Worth in national money
$42,916
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for bus drivers, school is strong here. Hawaii's middle earner gets $59,090, putting the state 6 of 51 — about 23.31% ahead of the national figure.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Bus drivers, school ranks 250 among 437 occupations Hawaii publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $59,090 the take-home is $46,611. But Hawaii costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $42,916 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $57,920, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For bus drivers, school, Hawaii sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $59,090, ranking 6 of 51 and running about 23.31% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Position 250 of 437 in Hawaii places bus drivers, school in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Hawaii income tax is $46,611 for bus drivers, school, from $59,090. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $42,916. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $57,920 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bus Drivers, School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,090 |
| Top tenth earn over | $73,970 |
| This salary | $59,090 |
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 Hawaii | $46,611 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,659 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,186 |
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 | $55,297 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,900 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of bus drivers, school in Hawaii earn under $59,090 and half over. The published range runs $45,760 at the tenth percentile to $73,970 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Hawaii the take-home figure of $46,611, from $59,090, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 250 of 437 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $42,916, the adjusted value of that $59,090 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Hawaii. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 250 of 437 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for bus drivers, school in Hawaii, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,760 to $73,970; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Hawaii is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $46,611 from $59,090. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 250 of 437 locally.
- This $42,916 adjusted figure, worked from $59,090, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 250 of 437 in the state. The occupation ranks 250 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $45,760 and the top tenth $73,970, so most people doing this work in Hawaii sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $42,916 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Hawaii adds its own income tax on top — which is why $46,611 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($45,760 to $73,970) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Hawaii rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $42,916 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $46,611 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii 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.