Bus Driver Hourly Pay, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 8,067 US job postings by 3,054 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for bus drivers: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 8,067 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for bus drivers in US job postings is $22.66 an hour (2,323 postings from 809 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $18.88 to $26.33 an hour.
- The skills that most set bus driver postings apart are manage student behavior, follow written and verbal instructions, safe driving practices.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 2 years of experience.
Bus Driver job postings in the US, October 2026
- $22.66/hr
- Median advertised pay (2,323 postings)
- $18.88–$26.33
- Middle 50% of postings
- 8,067
- US job postings from 3,054 employers
- 2 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a bus driver make an hour?
The median advertised pay is $22.66 an hour, from 2,323 US job postings by 809 employers that state pay. That is about $47,000 a year at 2,080 hours.
Advertised pay in 2,323 US bus driver job postings: median $47,000 a year ($22.66 an hour), middle half $39,000 to $55,000.
- Median: $47,000 ($22.66/hr)
- 25th percentile: $39,000
- 75th percentile: $55,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $10K–$20K | 0.4% |
| $20K–$30K | 5.0% |
| $30K–$40K | 23.2% |
| $40K–$50K | 31.3% |
| $50K–$60K | 25.9% |
| $60K–$70K | 9.2% |
| $70K–$80K | 2.3% |
| $80K–$90K | 0.9% |
| $90K–$100K | 0.1% |
| $100K–$110K | 1.0% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an hourly rate | $22.66 | $18.88–$26.33 | 1,617 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $47,000 | $39K–$55K | 2,323 |
What is the starting salary for a bus driver?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Highest-paying bus driver jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Substitute Bus Driver | $23.88/hr | 1,157 | 350 |
| Bus Driver (general) | $22.14/hr | 964 | 486 |
Bus driver pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | $25.92/hr | $22.52–$26.50 | 122 | 3.5% |
| District of Columbia | $23.51/hr | $19.46–$26.89 | 199 | 7.5% |
| Michigan | $23.50/hr | $21.50–$25.50 | 119 | 3.7% |
| Pennsylvania | $22.30/hr | $19.20–$26.77 | 123 | 4.6% |
| Ohio | $20.76/hr | $18.16–$23.72 | 106 | 6.9% |
| North Carolina | $17.28/hr | $16.82–$20.56 | 149 | 8.3% |
Skills employers ask for in bus driver job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 18% |
| Interpersonal skills | 12% |
| Customer service | 11% |
| Communicate effectively | 10% |
| Manage student behavior | 7% |
| Follow written and verbal instructions | 7% |
| Courtesy | 6% |
| Problem-solving | 6% |
| Organizational skills | 5% |
| Professionalism | 5% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set bus drivers apart
- Manage student behavior150.1× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Follow written and verbal instructions34.3× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Courtesy24.4× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Communicate effectively4× as often as in all postings · 10%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a bus driver job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a bus driver do?
Employers post these jobs as Substitute Bus Driver, School Bus Driver, Bus Drivers, Bus Operator, Substitute Bus Drivers and other titles. The largest specializations are Substitute Bus Driver (36%), Shuttle Driver (3%).
The closest official occupation is Bus Drivers, School (53-3051.00). Its most important tasks:
- 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 everything is in working order.
- Report any bus malfunctions or needed repairs.
- Pick up and drop off students at regularly scheduled neighborhood locations, following strict time schedules.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a bus driver?
Among 1,035 postings that state a minimum, the median is 2 years. 1% say 0 years and 41% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 1,035 US bus driver job postings: median 2 years, and 41% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 3% |
| 1 yr | 38% |
| 2 yrs | 21% |
| 3-4 yrs | 24% |
| 5-7 yrs | 12% |
| 8-9 yrs | under 1% |
| 10+ yrs | 2% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Part-time 59%, Full-time 41% of the 1,023 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a bus driver: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Bus Driver | 1,542 (50.5%) |
| Substitute Bus Driver | 468 (15.3%) |
| School Bus Driver | 353 (11.6%) |
| Bus Drivers | 153 (5.0%) |
| Bus Operator | 95 (3.1%) |
| Substitute Bus Drivers | 89 (2.9%) |
| Substitute School Bus Driver | 62 (2.0%) |
| Shuttle Bus Driver | 60 (2.0%) |
| Bus Driver Trainee | 51 (1.7%) |
| Bus Driver Substitute | 49 (1.6%) |
| Part Time Bus Driver | 44 (1.4%) |
| CDL Bus Driver | 43 (1.4%) |
| School Bus Drivers | 42 (1.4%) |
| Sub Bus Driver | 38 (1.2%) |
| Transit Driver | 37 (1.2%) |
| School Van Driver | 37 (1.2%) |
| Van Driver | 35 (1.1%) |
| Substitute Van Driver | 33 (1.1%) |
| Bus Driver Pool | 29 (0.9%) |
| Bus Driver 2026-2027 | 29 (0.9%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Bus Driver compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bus Driver | $22.66/hr | 2 years | 8,067 | – |
| Custodian | $17.85/hr | 1 year | 27,601 | 12 |
| Paraprofessional | $18.50/hr | 2 years | 24,141 | 13 |
| Police Officer | $71K | 2 years | 2,690 | 13 |
| Truck Driver | $27.00/hr | 2 years | 34,157 | 13 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Custodian | 12 | $17.85/hr |
| Paraprofessional | 13 | $18.50/hr |
| Police Officer | 13 | $71K |
| Truck Driver | 13 | $27.00/hr |
| Delivery Driver | 12 | $21.00/hr |
| Sports Coach | 14 | $20.00/hr |
Applying for bus driver jobs?
- Bus driver resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find bus driver jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a bus driver make an hour?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 19 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.