Bus Drivers, School in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,054
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$8,706
18.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,950
Wisconsin costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Wisconsin — 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
$47,760
Kept after tax
$39,054
Worth in national money
$41,950
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Wisconsin sits in the middle of the pack for bus drivers, school. The median is $47,760, ranking 24 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Wisconsin reports figures for, this is number 350.
- Wisconsin is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $47,760 the take-home is $39,054; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $41,950 would nationally. The average comes to $51,040, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Wisconsin occupies the middle band for bus drivers, school: a median of $47,760, ranking 24 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Wisconsin's occupational distribution, bus drivers, school sits at 350 of 491 — 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 Wisconsin, on $47,760, is $39,054 — equivalent to $41,950 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 $51,040 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bus Drivers, School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,930 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,760 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,780 |
| This salary | $47,760 |
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 Wisconsin | $39,054 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,555 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$216 |
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 | $45,892 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$261 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
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 Wisconsin earn under $47,760 and half over. The published range runs $38,930 at the tenth percentile to $62,780 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $39,054, from $47,760, 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 350 of 491 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $41,950, the adjusted value of that $47,760 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Wisconsin. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 350 of 491 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for bus drivers, school in Wisconsin, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,930 to $62,780; 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 Wisconsin is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $39,054 from $47,760. 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 350 of 491 locally.
- This $41,950 adjusted figure, worked from $47,760, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 350 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 350 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $51,040, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $38,930 at the tenth percentile, $62,780 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Wisconsin is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $41,950 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; Wisconsin then takes its own share, leaving $39,054.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Wisconsin is $51,040. 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 ($38,930 to $62,780) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Wisconsin rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Wisconsin'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 $41,950 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 $39,054 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Wisconsin 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.