Find a Job You Really Want In
Bus Drivers are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as bus drivers in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since bus drivers are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where bus drivers have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for bus drivers.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s bus drivers:
So there you have it — Bus Drivers, Transit And Intercity is the best of the best when it comes to being a bus driver.
How did Bus Drivers, Transit And Intercity end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for bus drivers and for more on the top ten states.
If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- Best Companies To Work For In Seattle, WA
- These Are The 10 Companies That Are Hiring The Most In Seattle
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Seattle
How we determined the best states to be a bus driver
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:
- Availability of jobs
- Higher Pay
So in order to find out the best states for bus drivers in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well bus drivers get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2018:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for bus drivers in California is $49,560 and the average salary in Illinois is $57,080, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for bus drivers in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for bus drivers.
1. Washington
Total Jobs: 5,290
Average Annual Salary: $58,890
Average Entry Level Salary: $39,750
Average Experienced Salary: $80,420
Location Quotient: 1.35
2. Illinois
Total Jobs: 6,600
Average Annual Salary: $57,080
Average Entry Level Salary: $33,880
Average Experienced Salary: $76,400
Location Quotient: 0.92
3. New York
Total Jobs: 19,630
Average Annual Salary: $60,220
Average Entry Level Salary: $35,330
Average Experienced Salary: $81,210
Location Quotient: 1.74
4. Arizona
Total Jobs: 3,550
Average Annual Salary: $42,280
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,860
Average Experienced Salary: $60,490
Location Quotient: 1.06
5. Minnesota
Total Jobs: 3,980
Average Annual Salary: $40,560
Average Entry Level Salary: $30,070
Average Experienced Salary: $55,430
Location Quotient: 1.15
6. Virginia
Total Jobs: 5,080
Average Annual Salary: $42,990
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,240
Average Experienced Salary: $65,790
Location Quotient: 1.1
7. Wisconsin
Total Jobs: 2,220
Average Annual Salary: $46,010
Average Entry Level Salary: $27,590
Average Experienced Salary: $61,790
Location Quotient: 0.65
8. Oregon
Total Jobs: 2,950
Average Annual Salary: $48,020
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,880
Average Experienced Salary: $63,080
Location Quotient: 1.3
9. Massachusetts
Total Jobs: 4,730
Average Annual Salary: $55,700
Average Entry Level Salary: $33,110
Average Experienced Salary: $89,470
Location Quotient: 1.1
10. Texas
Total Jobs: 11,240
Average Annual Salary: $39,000
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,060
Average Experienced Salary: $52,810
Location Quotient: 0.77
There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Bus Driver
If you’re looking to start out your career as a bus driver these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be a bus driver in America:
For more reading, check out:
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Washington
- These Are The 100 Largest Companies In Washington
Detailed List Of The Best States For bus drivers
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $58,890 |
| 2 | Illinois | $57,080 |
| 3 | New York | $60,220 |
| 4 | Arizona | $42,280 |
| 5 | Minnesota | $40,560 |
| 6 | Virginia | $42,990 |
| 7 | Wisconsin | $46,010 |
| 8 | Oregon | $48,020 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | $55,700 |
| 10 | Texas | $39,000 |
| 11 | Ohio | $41,000 |
| 12 | Nebraska | $39,960 |
| 13 | Michigan | $35,740 |
| 14 | Alaska | $56,630 |
| 15 | New Jersey | $48,960 |
| 16 | Iowa | $34,380 |
| 17 | Delaware | $41,030 |
| 18 | Colorado | $38,570 |
| 19 | Missouri | $37,130 |
| 20 | Tennessee | $37,120 |
| 21 | Indiana | $37,530 |
| 22 | Utah | $36,240 |
| 23 | Montana | $37,260 |
| 24 | Wyoming | $36,160 |
| 25 | Nevada | $37,130 |
| 26 | West Virginia | $34,610 |
| 27 | Kentucky | $33,910 |
| 28 | California | $49,560 |
| 29 | Connecticut | $47,270 |
| 30 | Maryland | $43,560 |
| 31 | Mississippi | $31,070 |
| 32 | Florida | $33,320 |
| 33 | Pennsylvania | $36,550 |
| 34 | Louisiana | $35,310 |
| 35 | North Dakota | $36,840 |
| 36 | Maine | $39,010 |
| 37 | Arkansas | $30,840 |
| 38 | Alabama | $30,510 |
| 39 | South Dakota | $34,230 |
| 40 | Idaho | $30,890 |
| 41 | Hawaii | $44,050 |
| 42 | North Carolina | $31,270 |
| 43 | New Mexico | $29,730 |
| 44 | Kansas | $31,330 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | $37,750 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $28,300 |
| 47 | Georgia | $28,780 |
| 48 | New Hampshire | $38,960 |
| 49 | South Carolina | $32,740 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
