Bus Drivers, School in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,726
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$8,654
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,056
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$46,380
Kept after tax
$37,726
Worth in national money
$40,056
State rank
27
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Michigan pays bus drivers, school around $46,380 at the midpoint, 27 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Bus drivers, school ranks 349 among 493 occupations Michigan publishes pay for.
- Michigan is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $46,380 the take-home is $37,726; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $40,056 would nationally. The average lands at $46,100, below the middle of the range.
- For bus drivers, school the Michigan median is $46,380, ranking 27 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 349 of 493 in Michigan 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.
- Post-tax income for bus drivers, school in Michigan, on $46,380, is $37,726 — equivalent to $40,056 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $46,100 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bus Drivers, School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,860 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,380 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,500 |
| This salary | $46,380 |
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 Michigan | $37,726 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,446 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$538 |
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 | $44,239 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$650 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
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 Michigan earn under $46,380 and half over. The published range runs $37,860 at the tenth percentile to $54,500 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Michigan's $37,726, worked from $46,380. 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 349 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Michigan, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $40,056, the adjusted value of that $46,380 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 349 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for bus drivers, school in Michigan, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,860 to $54,500; 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.
- The Michigan take-home of $37,726, on $46,380 for work ranking 349 of 493 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 349 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Michigan, so $40,056 — the adjusted value of that $46,380 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 349 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,860 at the tenth percentile, $54,500 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $40,056.
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 Michigan adds its own income tax on top — which is why $37,726 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 ($37,860 to $54,500) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $40,056 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 $37,726 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.