Bus Drivers, School in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,744
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$8,506
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,284
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$46,250
Kept after tax
$37,744
Worth in national money
$41,284
State rank
29
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Idaho pays bus drivers, school around $46,250 at the midpoint, 29 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Bus drivers, school ranks 329 among 476 occupations Idaho publishes pay for.
- Here is where Idaho does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $46,250 you keep $37,744, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $41,284 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $45,730, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For bus drivers, school the Idaho median is $46,250, ranking 29 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Position 329 of 476 in Idaho 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.
- After federal, FICA and Idaho income tax, retained pay for bus drivers, school on $46,250 is $37,744. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $41,284 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 $45,730 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Bus Drivers, School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,380 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,250 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,410 |
| This salary | $46,250 |
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 Idaho | $37,744 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,342 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$798 |
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 | $44,261 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$966 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $46,250 as a midpoint for Idaho, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,380 and the ninetieth is $56,410 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $37,744 take-home in Idaho comes from $46,250. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 329 of 476.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $41,284 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 329.
- The Idaho median of $46,250 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,380 to $56,410. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $37,744, from $46,250, assumes a single Idaho filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 329 of 476 locally, and the state ranks 29 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $41,284, worked from $46,250, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Idaho address, on work sitting at 329 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,380 and the top tenth $56,410, so most people doing this work in Idaho sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Idaho is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $41,284 in national terms.
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 Idaho adds its own income tax on top — which is why $37,744 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,380 to $56,410) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $41,284 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 $37,744 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.