Bus Drivers, School in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,582
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$8,298
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,046
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$46,880
Kept after tax
$38,582
Worth in national money
$42,046
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Missouri is 26 of 51 states for bus drivers, school, with a middle wage of $46,880. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 488 occupations Missouri reports figures for, this is number 328.
- Missouri is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $46,880 the take-home is $38,582; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $42,046 would nationally. The average comes to $47,020, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Missouri ranks 26 of 51 for bus drivers, school at $46,880. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Missouri's occupational distribution, bus drivers, school sits at 328 of 488 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for bus drivers, school in Missouri, on $46,880, is $38,582 — equivalent to $42,046 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 $47,020 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Bus Drivers, School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,980 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,730 |
| This salary | $46,880 |
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 Missouri | $38,582 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,848 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,039 |
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 | $45,304 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,257 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
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 Missouri earn under $46,880 and half over. The published range runs $33,980 at the tenth percentile to $58,730 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Missouri the take-home figure of $38,582, from $46,880, 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 328 of 488 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $42,046 uses one figure for the whole of Missouri. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 328.
- Figures are distribution medians for bus drivers, school in Missouri, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,980 to $58,730; 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 Missouri is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,582 from $46,880. 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 328 of 488 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,046, worked from $46,880, 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 Missouri address, on work sitting at 328 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $33,980 and the top tenth $58,730, so most people doing this work in Missouri sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Missouri sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $42,046 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Missouri adds its own income tax on top — which is why $38,582 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 ($33,980 to $58,730) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $42,046 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 $38,582 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.