Bus drivers

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Total Workforce

570k

Average Age

52.3

Average Salary

$29,362

Average Male Salary

$32,150

Average Female Salary

$26,096

About

Bus drivers are most often employed by the Bus service & urban transit industry. The average yearly wage for Bus drivers was $29,362 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Bus drivers by wage are Print binding & finishing workers, Religious workers, all other, and Retail salespersons.

Bus drivers are part of the Transportation Occupations, along with Supervisors of transportation & material moving workers, Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists, Flight attendants, Ambulance drivers & attendants, except emergency medical technicians, and 17 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Bus drivers are Jamaica, Hollis & St. Albans PUMA, NY, Monroeville Municipality, Plum & Wilkinsburg Boroughs PUMA, PA, and East New York & Starrett City PUMA, NY. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Bus drivers are Rochester City (West) PUMA, NY, Orange County (Southeast) PUMA, NY, and East New York & Starrett City PUMA, NY.

Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations Transportation & Material Moving Occupations Transportation Occupations

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Bus drivers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Bus service & urban transit is the industry that employs the most Bus drivers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Bus drivers, by average wage, is Administration of economic programs & space research. Bus drivers are paid most in Colorado Springs City (South) & Security-Widefield PUMA, CO but are relatively concentrated in Rochester City (West) PUMA, NY.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$29,362

AVERAGE SALARY

± $863

In 2017, Bus drivers earned an average of $29,362, $24,527 less than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Retail salespersons make somewhat more than Bus drivers while Print binding & finishing workers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Bus drivers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.362

WAGE GINI

In 2017, Bus drivers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.362, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Bus drivers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Bus drivers.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Bus drivers

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Bus drivers.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Bus drivers, by number of employees, are Bus service & urban transit, Elementary & secondary schools, and Services incidental to transportation.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Bus drivers, by average wage, are Administration of economic programs & space research, Truck transportation, and Services incidental to transportation.

Industries by Share

570k

2017 Workforce

± 18,507

-4.02%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 4.73%

The number of people employed as Bus drivers has been declining at a rate of -4.02%, from 594,285 people in 2016 to 570,423 people in 2017.

This graphic shows the share of Bus drivers employed by various industries. Bus service & urban transit employs the largest share of Bus drivers at 51.8%, followed by Elementary & secondary schools with 39.3% and Services incidental to transportation with 1.62%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Bus drivers in the US. The average age of male Bus drivers in the workforce is 54.4 and of female Bus drivers is 49.8, and the most common race/ethnicity for Bus drivers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

308k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 13,604

263k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 12,574

53.9% of Bus drivers are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Bus drivers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Bus drivers

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

54.2% of Bus drivers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 27.3% of Bus drivers, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Bus drivers.

Age by Gender

54.4

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.599

49.8

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.583

The median age of Bus drivers is 52.3, and Male employees are generally 4.6 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Bus drivers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Bus drivers is Business but a relatively high number of Bus drivers hold a major in Theology.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degree-majorss. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree-majors obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Bus drivers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bus drivers need many skills, but most especially Monitoring. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Bus drivers need more than the average amount of Repairing, Equipment Maintenance, and Operation and Control.