Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,869
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$6,831
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,310
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$37,700
Kept after tax
$30,869
Worth in national money
$34,310
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Alabama. The middle earner gets $37,700. That is 50 of 51 states, and about 36.16% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 482 occupations Alabama publishes, this job lands at 374. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $37,700 you keep $30,869, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,310 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $39,700, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For bus drivers, transit and intercity, Alabama sits in the lower band at $37,700, ranking 50 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 36.16%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Alabama, this work ranks 374 of 482 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for bus drivers, transit and intercity on $37,700 is $30,869. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,310 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 $39,700 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,700 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,680 |
| This salary | $37,700 |
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 Alabama | $30,869 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,472 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$895 |
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 | $35,705 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,082 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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, transit and intercity in Alabama earn under $37,700 and half over. The published range runs $29,640 at the tenth percentile to $46,680 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Alabama the take-home figure of $30,869, from $37,700, 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 374 of 482 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,310 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 374.
- Figures are distribution medians for bus drivers, transit and intercity in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,640 to $46,680; 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 Alabama is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,869 from $37,700. 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 374 of 482 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,310, worked from $37,700, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 374 of 482 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 $39,700, 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?
The range here is narrow. From $29,640 at the bottom tenth to $46,680 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $34,310 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Alabama's own levy, $30,869 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Alabama is $39,700. 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 ($29,640 to $46,680) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $34,310 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 $30,869 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.