Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity Salary
In St. Louis, MO-IL, bus drivers, transit and intercities earn $61,080 at the median, or about $29.37 an hour. The range runs from $50K at the entry level to $61K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.09), that's roughly $64,234 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,218/month, about 30.3% of take-home, which is tight.
Where the paycheck goes
What $61K actually covers in St. Louis, month by month
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by St. Louis’s Regional Price Parity (95.09). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About bus drivers, transit and intercities
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What this looks like in St. Louis
Bus drivers, transit and intercity pay in St. Louis tracks closely to the national median, $61K locally vs. $59K nationwide, a 3% difference. Rent runs $1,218/month for a 2-bedroom (HUD FMR), taking 29.8% of the median take-home. That's within the 30% rule, though not by much. Cost of living (RPP 95.09) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Pay and costs are both near average, leaving limited margin for savings at the median wage.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for bus drivers, transit and intercities in metros near St. Louis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Springfield | $40K | $45K |
| Kansas City | $59K | $64K |
| Jefferson City | $44K | $50K |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | $65K | $63K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, St. Louis, MO-IL
Entry-level bus drivers, transit and intercities (10th percentile) start around $50K. Mid-career wages sit at $61K. Top earners bring in $61K or more, a $11K spread from bottom to top.
Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $84K | +43% | 16,770 |
| Washington | $72K | +22% | 6,960 |
| Hawaii | $69K | +16% | 2,190 |
| California | $67K | +14% | 24,380 |
| Oregon | $66K | +11% | 2,620 |
| Massachusetts | $65K | +11% | 3,970 |
| Maryland | $65K | +10% | 4,890 |
| Illinois | $65K | +10% | 8,650 |
| Alaska | $64K | +9% | 250 |
| Colorado | $63K | +7% | 3,540 |
| Ohio | $63K | +6% | 4,000 |
| Nevada | $62K | +4% | 2,540 |
| New Jersey | $61K | +4% | 6,420 |
| Missouri | $61K | +3% | 1,860 |
| Delaware | $61K | +2% | 380 |
| Connecticut | $60K | +2% | 1,830 |
| Indiana | $58K | -1% | 2,130 |
| Maine | $58K | -2% | 470 |
| District of Columbia | $56K | -6% | 150 |
| New Hampshire | $55K | -7% | 300 |
| Kentucky | $55K | -8% | 2,570 |
| Arizona | $54K | -9% | 3,240 |
| Vermont | $54K | -9% | 440 |
| Virginia | $53K | -10% | 3,800 |
| Wisconsin | $53K | -11% | 2,220 |
| Pennsylvania | $51K | -13% | 4,710 |
| Utah | $51K | -14% | 1,230 |
| Oklahoma | $50K | -15% | 1,760 |
| Minnesota | $50K | -15% | 2,610 |
| Idaho | $49K | -17% | 520 |
| North Dakota | $49K | -17% | 250 |
| Louisiana | $49K | -17% | 1,490 |
| Texas | $49K | -17% | 11,600 |
| Rhode Island | $49K | -18% | 70 |
| Florida | $48K | -18% | 9,130 |
| Tennessee | $48K | -19% | 1,970 |
| Michigan | $48K | -19% | 3,620 |
| Iowa | $46K | -22% | 1,560 |
| Montana | $46K | -23% | 450 |
| Wyoming | $46K | -23% | 130 |
| New Mexico | $46K | -23% | 580 |
| Georgia | $46K | -23% | 3,700 |
| Nebraska | $45K | -24% | 460 |
| North Carolina | $44K | -25% | 2,900 |
| South Carolina | $43K | -27% | 630 |
| South Dakota | $42K | -30% | 410 |
| Kansas | $41K | -30% | 430 |
| West Virginia | $39K | -34% | 520 |
| Mississippi | $39K | -35% | 400 |
| Alabama | $38K | -36% | 960 |
| Arkansas | $38K | -36% | 570 |
Showing 1–10 of 51 (all 50 states + DC)
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Quick answers
The stuff people actually ask about this job
Can a bus drivers, transit and intercity afford a 2BR apartment alone in St. Louis?
Yes — at the median salary of $61K, rent takes 29.8% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,218/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.
What’s the entry-level salary for bus drivers, transit and intercities in St. Louis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new bus drivers, transit and intercities typically earn — is $50K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,368/month. At HUD’s $1,218/month FMR, rent would take 36% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is bus drivers, transit and intercity a high-paying job in St. Louis?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $61K locally vs. $59K nationally, a 3% difference.
How does St. Louis compare to the national average for bus drivers, transit and intercities?
St. Louis pays $61K median vs. the U.S. average of $59K — that’s +3%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $64K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do bus drivers, transit and intercities make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The median is $61,080 a year, that works out to about $29 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $49,720, and experienced bus drivers, transit and intercities can clear $61,140. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $61K enough to live in St. Louis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,083/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,218/month, which eats 29.8% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.
How far does a bus drivers, transit and intercity salary go in St. Louis?
St. Louis has a Regional Price Parity of 95.09 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median bus drivers, transit and intercity salary is worth about $64,234 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do bus drivers, transit and intercities get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.