Bus Drivers, School in Vermont
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,003
after federal, FICA and Vermont tax
Tax takes
$10,577
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,605
Vermont costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Vermont — 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
$56,580
Kept after tax
$46,003
Worth in national money
$47,605
State rank
9
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Vermont is one of the better-paying states for bus drivers, school. The middle earner takes $56,580, which ranks 9 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 18.07% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 453 occupations Vermont reports figures for, this is number 269.
- Here is where Vermont does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $56,580 you keep $46,003, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $47,605 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $52,470, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Vermont ranks 9 of 51 states publishing a median for bus drivers, school, at $56,580 — about 18.07% 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.
- In Vermont's occupational distribution, bus drivers, school sits at 269 of 453 — 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.
- After federal, FICA and Vermont income tax, retained pay for bus drivers, school on $56,580 is $46,003. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $47,605 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 $52,470 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 | $39,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $56,580 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,970 |
| This salary | $56,580 |
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 Vermont | $46,003 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,642 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,422 |
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 | $54,540 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,720 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Vermont earn less than $56,580. The published range is $39,840 up to $61,970, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Vermont the take-home figure of $46,003, from $56,580, 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 269 of 453 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $47,605 uses one figure for the whole of Vermont. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 453 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 269.
- Reported values are medians; for bus drivers, school in Vermont the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $39,840 to $61,970. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Vermont is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $46,003 from $56,580. 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 269 of 453 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $47,605, worked from $56,580, 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 Vermont address, on work sitting at 269 of 453 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $52,470, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $39,840 at the tenth percentile, $61,970 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Vermont sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $47,605 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 Vermont adds its own income tax on top — which is why $46,003 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.
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 Vermont is $52,470. 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 ($39,840 to $61,970) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Vermont rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Vermont'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 $47,605 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 $46,003 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.