Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 53-3051

Bus Drivers, School

About 61,000 projected annual openings shape how to read Bus Drivers, School against Commercial Pilots, Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers, Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters, Transportation Inspectors.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Bus Drivers, School: Commercial Pilots ($123K) , Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers ($69K) , Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters ($78K) , Transportation Inspectors ($92K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Bus Drivers, School publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-3051 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Comply with traffic regulations to operate vehicles in a safe and courteous manner
  2. 2. Follow safety rules as students board and exit buses or cross streets near bus stops
  3. 3. Check the condition of a vehicle's tires, brakes, windshield wipers, lights, oil, fuel, water, and safety equipment to ensure that everyt…
  4. 4. Report any bus malfunctions or needed repairs
  5. 5. Pick up and drop off students at regularly scheduled neighborhood locations, following strict time schedules
  6. 6. Escort small children across roads and highways
  7. 7. Drive gasoline, diesel, or electrically powered multi-passenger vehicles to transport students between neighborhoods, schools, and school…
  8. 8. Maintain order among students during trips to ensure safety
  9. 9. Prepare and submit reports that may include the number of students or trips, hours worked, mileage, or fuel consumption
  10. 10. Maintain knowledge of first-aid procedures
  11. 11. Record bus routes
  12. 12. Report delays, accidents, or other traffic and transportation situations, using telephones or mobile two-way radios

Bus Drivers, School: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-3051 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.4 ; lead knowledge Transportation. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.4
  2. 2. Critical Thinking 3.4
  3. 3. Monitoring 3.4
  4. 4. Social Perceptiveness 3.3
  5. 5. Speaking 3.1
  6. 6. Operations Monitoring 3.1
  7. 7. Reading Comprehension 3.0
  8. 8. Coordination 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Transportation 4.5
  2. 2. Public Safety and Security 4.0
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 3.9
  4. 4. English Language 3.7
  5. 5. Mechanical 3.2
  6. 6. Law and Government 3.1
Projected annual openings
61,000
growth + transfers + exits
National median $47,920/yr
$48K
National median
↑ +0%
Growth 2024-2034
402,930
Estimated US jobs
Commercial Pilots
Highest-pay peer · $123K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Bus Drivers, School

1. Massachusetts $65,170
2. Maryland $56,450
3. Vermont $56,580
4. Washington $63,370
5. New Jersey $59,430
6. New York $56,640
7. Rhode Island $58,700
8. Connecticut $61,520
9. Hawaii $59,090
10. California $61,040

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters $78,000
  2. 2. Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers $68,840
  3. 3. Transportation Inspectors $92,100
  4. 4. Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators $77,320
  5. 5. Commercial Pilots $123,220
  6. 6. Subway and Streetcar Operators $86,380

Roughly 61,000 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for Bus Drivers, School. Median pay is $47,920 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations.

Employment Projections expect +0% change between 2024 and 2034 (slower than average vs baseline 3.1%). BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Massachusetts at $65,170. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Commercial Pilots at $123,220. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Bus Drivers, School pay-rank #30 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Bus Drivers, School sits at pay-rank #30 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 53-3051 · national median $47,920 · middle third of Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (#30/50). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Bus Drivers, School salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-3051

Massachusetts · top state for Bus Drivers, School

$65K published median

Maryland · #2 state pay

$56K · behind Massachusetts

Commercial Pilots

Highest-pay peer vs Bus Drivers, School · $123K

Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers

Lower-pay peer beside Bus Drivers, School · $69K

Compare Bus Drivers, School

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
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Openings and labor-flow next reads

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Labor-flow scale across occupations

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bus Drivers, School mid-table among Transportation and Material Moving Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #30 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Motorboat Operators ($48K), Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators ($46K), Dredge Operators ($50K), Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors ($50K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do bus drivers, school do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Bus Drivers, School. Leading ones include: Comply with traffic regulations to operate vehicles in a safe and courteous manner; Follow safety rules as students board and exit buses or cross streets near bus stops; Check the condition of a vehicle's tires, brakes, windshield wipers, lights, oil, fuel, water, and safety equipment to ensure that everyt…; Report any bus malfunctions or needed repairs. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for bus drivers, school? ▼
For SOC 53-3051, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.4), Critical Thinking (3.4), Monitoring (3.4), Social Perceptiveness (3.3). Knowledge areas emphasize Transportation, Public Safety and Security, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Bus Drivers, School? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $47,920 as the national median for Bus Drivers, School. The published 10th-90th range is $29,240 to $65,730. Beside Commercial Pilots ($123,220), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Bus Drivers, School? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Bus Drivers, School is +0%. Projected annual openings: about 61,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: slower than average.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Bus Drivers, School? ▼
Massachusetts ($65,170), Maryland ($56,450), Vermont ($56,580) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Bus Drivers, School card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-3051. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Bus Drivers, School. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics