Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity in Mississippi
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,720
after federal, FICA and Mississippi tax
Tax takes
$6,850
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,338
Mississippi costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Mississippi — 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
$38,570
Kept after tax
$31,720
Worth in national money
$36,338
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Mississippi. The middle earner gets $38,570. That is 49 of 51 states, and about 34.68% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against other work in Mississippi, this sits in the middle: 351 of 486 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $38,570 you keep $31,720 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $36,338 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $38,760, since top earners drag the number up.
- For bus drivers, transit and intercity, Mississippi sits in the lower band at $38,570, ranking 49 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 34.68%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Bus drivers, transit and intercity ranks 351 of 486 occupations in Mississippi by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay in Mississippi is $31,720 after the full tax stack, from $38,570. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $36,338 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $38,760 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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 | $30,210 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,630 |
| This salary | $38,570 |
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 Mississippi | $31,720 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,171 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,203 |
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 | $36,764 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,664 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Mississippi earn less than $38,570. The published range is $30,210 up to $44,630, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Mississippi's $31,720, worked from $38,570. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 351 of 486.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $36,338 uses one figure for the whole of Mississippi. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 486 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 351.
- Reported values are medians; for bus drivers, transit and intercity in Mississippi the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,210 to $44,630. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Mississippi take-home of $31,720, on $38,570 for work ranking 351 of 486 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 351 of 486 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,338, worked from $38,570, 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 Mississippi address, on work sitting at 351 of 486 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $30,210 at the tenth percentile, $44,630 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Mississippi is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $36,338 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Mississippi adds its own income tax on top — which is why $31,720 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,210 to $44,630) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Mississippi rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Mississippi'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 $36,338 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 $31,720 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Mississippi 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.