Bus Drivers, School in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,606
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$13,564
20.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,678
Massachusetts costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Massachusetts — 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
$65,170
Kept after tax
$51,606
Worth in national money
$47,678
State rank
1
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for bus drivers, school. The middle earner takes $65,170, which ranks 1 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 36% above the national middle.
- Against other work in Massachusetts, this sits in the middle: 254 of 485 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $65,170, tax leaves $51,606 — and because Massachusetts is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $47,678 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $61,210.
- Massachusetts ranks 1 of 51 states publishing a median for bus drivers, school, at $65,170 — about 36% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Bus drivers, school ranks 254 of 485 occupations in Massachusetts 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 tax, $51,606 remains from the Massachusetts median of $65,170 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $47,678 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $61,210 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bus Drivers, School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $65,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $71,980 |
| This salary | $65,170 |
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 Massachusetts | $51,606 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,544 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,452 |
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 | $61,513 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,222 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Massachusetts earn less than $65,170. The published range is $44,530 up to $71,980, 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 Massachusetts's $51,606, worked from $65,170. 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 254 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $47,678 uses one figure for the whole of Massachusetts. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 485 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 254.
- Reported values are medians; for bus drivers, school in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $44,530 to $71,980. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $51,606, on $65,170 for work ranking 254 of 485 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 254 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $47,678, worked from $65,170, 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 Massachusetts address, on work sitting at 254 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $61,210, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $44,530 at the bottom tenth to $71,980 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $47,678 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Massachusetts then takes its own share, leaving $51,606.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Massachusetts is $61,210. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($44,530 to $71,980) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Massachusetts rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Massachusetts's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $47,678 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 $51,606 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Massachusetts 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.