Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,359
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$8,501
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,684
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$48,860
Kept after tax
$40,359
Worth in national money
$45,684
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Louisiana pays this job around $48,860 at the midpoint, 32 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 484 occupations Louisiana reports figures for, this is number 271.
- Louisiana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $48,860 the take-home is $40,359; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $45,684 would nationally. The average lands at $47,740, below the middle of the range.
- For bus drivers, transit and intercity the Louisiana median is $48,860, ranking 32 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.
- In Louisiana's occupational distribution, bus drivers, transit and intercity sits at 271 of 484 — 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, transit and intercity in Louisiana, on $48,860, is $40,359 — equivalent to $45,684 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 $47,740 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,660 |
| This salary | $48,860 |
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 Louisiana | $40,359 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,439 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,040 |
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 | $47,516 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,677 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 Louisiana earn under $48,860 and half over. The published range runs $33,360 at the tenth percentile to $64,660 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $40,359 take-home in Louisiana comes from $48,860. 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 271 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $45,684 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 271.
- Figures are distribution medians for bus drivers, transit and intercity in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,360 to $64,660; 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.
- Retained pay of $40,359, from $48,860, assumes a single Louisiana 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 271 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 32 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $45,684, worked from $48,860, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 271 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $33,360 and the top tenth $64,660, so most people doing this work in Louisiana sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $45,684 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; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $40,359.
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 ($33,360 to $64,660) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana'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 $45,684 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 $40,359 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.