Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,520
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$9,350
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,034
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$53,870
Kept after tax
$44,520
Worth in national money
$44,034
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Arizona pays this job around $53,870 at the midpoint, 22 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 274 among 491 occupations Arizona publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $53,870, take-home of $44,520 is worth roughly $44,034 in national money. The average comes to $55,180, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For bus drivers, transit and intercity the Arizona median is $53,870, ranking 22 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Position 274 of 491 in Arizona places bus drivers, transit and intercity in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for bus drivers, transit and intercity, whose median is $53,870, the adjusted figure of $44,034 differs little from $44,520 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $55,180 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $39,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $53,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,140 |
| This salary | $53,870 |
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 Arizona | $44,520 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,465 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,753 |
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 | $52,695 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,329 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $53,870 as a midpoint for Arizona, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $39,350 and the ninetieth is $72,140 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $44,520 take-home in Arizona comes from $53,870. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 274 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $44,034 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 274.
- The Arizona median of $53,870 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $39,350 to $72,140. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $44,520, from $53,870, assumes a single Arizona filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 274 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $44,034, worked from $53,870, 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 Arizona address, on work sitting at 274 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $39,350 and the top tenth $72,140, so most people doing this work in Arizona sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $44,034 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $44,520.
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 ($39,350 to $72,140) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $44,034 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $44,520 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.