Bus Drivers, School in West Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,151
after federal, FICA and West Virginia tax
Tax takes
$5,209
15.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,359
West Virginia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in West Virginia — 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
$33,360
Kept after tax
$28,151
Worth in national money
$31,359
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- West Virginia is among the lower-paying states for bus drivers, school. The middle earner takes $33,360, ranking 48 of 51 states — about 30.38% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within West Virginia this is lower-paid work. Of 473 occupations the state publishes figures for, bus drivers, school ranks 415. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- West Virginia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $33,360 the take-home is $28,151; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $31,359 would nationally. The average comes to $33,390, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- West Virginia ranks 48 of 51 for bus drivers, school, with a median of $33,360 — about 30.38% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Against every occupation West Virginia reports, bus drivers, school ranks 415 of 473, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Post-tax income for bus drivers, school in West Virginia, on $33,360, is $28,151 — equivalent to $31,359 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 $33,390 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 | $29,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $33,360 |
| Top tenth earn over | $36,670 |
| This salary | $33,360 |
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 West Virginia | $28,151 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $28,985 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,531 |
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 | $32,323 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,852 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in West Virginia earn less than $33,360. The published range is $29,610 up to $36,670, 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 West Virginia's $28,151, worked from $33,360. 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 415 of 473.
- One number stands for prices across all of West Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $31,359, the adjusted value of that $33,360 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 415 of 473 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for bus drivers, school in West Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $29,610 to $36,670. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The West Virginia take-home of $28,151, on $33,360 for work ranking 415 of 473 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 415 of 473 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for West Virginia, so $31,359 — the adjusted value of that $33,360 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 415 of 473 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $29,610 at the bottom tenth to $36,670 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. West Virginia is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $31,359 in national terms.
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; West Virginia then takes its own share, leaving $28,151.
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 ($29,610 to $36,670) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to West Virginia rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
West Virginia'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 $31,359 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 $28,151 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and West Virginia 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.