Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,486
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$13,714
21.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,082
Illinois costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Illinois — 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
$65,200
Kept after tax
$51,486
Worth in national money
$52,082
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Illinois is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $65,200, which ranks 8 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 10.41% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 494 occupations Illinois reports figures for, this is number 213.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $65,200, take-home of $51,486 is worth roughly $52,082 in national money. The average comes to $67,480, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Illinois ranks 8 of 51 states publishing a median for bus drivers, transit and intercity, at $65,200 — about 10.41% 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 Illinois's occupational distribution, bus drivers, transit and intercity sits at 213 of 494 — 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.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for bus drivers, transit and intercity, whose median is $65,200, the adjusted figure of $52,082 differs little from $51,486 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $67,480 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 | $47,270 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $65,200 |
| Top tenth earn over | $85,990 |
| This salary | $65,200 |
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 Illinois | $51,486 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,568 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,073 |
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 | $61,364 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,925 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Illinois earn less than $65,200. The published range is $47,270 up to $85,990, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Illinois the take-home figure of $51,486, from $65,200, 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 213 of 494 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $52,082, the adjusted value of that $65,200 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Illinois. 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 213 of 494 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for bus drivers, transit and intercity in Illinois the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $47,270 to $85,990. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Illinois is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $51,486 from $65,200. 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 213 of 494 locally.
- This $52,082 adjusted figure, worked from $65,200, 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 213 of 494 in the state. The occupation ranks 213 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $67,480 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $47,270 at the bottom tenth to $85,990 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. Illinois is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $52,082 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; Illinois then takes its own share, leaving $51,486.
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 Illinois is $67,480. 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 ($47,270 to $85,990) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Illinois rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Illinois'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 $52,082 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 $51,486 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Illinois 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.