What Bus Drivers, School earn in Prince William County, VA
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $57,610: the median annual pay for Bus Drivers, School in Prince William County, VA. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $27.70 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $56,650, which is 1.7% below the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 8,620 people working in this occupation across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Prince William County, VA has roughly 488,880 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Bus Drivers, School in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $38,280 a year ($18.40 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $74,150 or more ($35.65 an hour). That is a gap of $35,870 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $48,870 at the 25th percentile and $62,450 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.9 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $27.70 an hour or $57,610 a year at the median for Prince William County, VA. Before any deductions, that is $4,801 a month, $2,216 every two weeks and $1,108 each week. After taxes the same job pays $22.07 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Bus Drivers, School
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Bus Drivers, School this way: "Drive a school bus to transport students. Ensure adherence to safety rules. May assist students in boarding or exiting."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "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"; "Comply with traffic regulations to operate vehicles in a safe and courteous manner"; "Drive gasoline, diesel, or electrically powered multi-passenger vehicles to transport students between neighborhoods, schools, and school activities"; "Follow safety rules as students board and exit buses or cross streets near bus stops".
Job outlook for Bus Drivers, School
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 396,800 jobs in 2025 to 399,700 in 2035, a change of +0.7%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 56,500 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 14.2% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $47,920 for this occupation; the Prince William County, VA median of $57,610 is 20.2% above it.
How pay in Prince William County, VA compares
Compared with the Virginia average
A worker in this occupation in Prince William County, VA earns $4,353 more than the Virginia average of $53,257, a premium of 8.2%. Over a year that premium is worth $4,353 before tax and roughly $3,469 after tax. Within Virginia, Prince William County, VA already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Bus Drivers, School is $48,359 across the contiguous United States. At $57,610, Prince William County, VA pays $9,251 more, which is 19.1% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Prince William County, VA
Among the 618 occupations with published wages in Prince William County, VA, Bus Drivers, School ranks number 417 by median pay, ahead of about 33% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $195,190 a year, which is $137,580 more than the median for Bus Drivers, School.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Bus Drivers, School earning the Prince William County, VA median of $57,610, they add up to $11,705. The result is $45,905 of take-home pay a year ($3,825 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $20 goes to taxes and $80 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 20.3%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $41,860. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $4,785, an effective 8.3% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $3,572 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $835. FICA totals $4,407, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Virginia
Virginia income tax on this salary is $2,513 a year, or 4.4% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 53% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $209 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Prince William County, VA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Prince William County, VA show an average adjusted gross income of $96,347 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 13.0% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 7.0%, compared with the 8.3% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Prince William County, VA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Prince William County, VA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $45,905 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Prince William County, VA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,204 a month ($26,448 a year), and at $2,438 for two bedrooms. For Bus Drivers, School, a one-bedroom absorbs 57.6% of take-home pay and 45.9% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 6.0% of gross pay for Bus Drivers, School in Prince William County, VA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Virginia residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,523 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $597, for $2,119 in total. Gasoline in Virginia averages $3.09 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,429.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $33,432 a year in Prince William County, VA. Subtract that from $45,905 of take-home pay and $12,474 remains, which is $1,039 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 21.7% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Prince William County, VA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Prince William County, VA: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Prince William County, VA, set beside the Virginia and national medians.
Property taxes in Prince William County, VA
Homeowners in Prince William County, VA pay a median of $4,999 a year in real estate taxes, 79% above the Virginia median of $2,790 and 60% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $530,100, the median tax bill is 0.94% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Bus Drivers, School median of $57,610, a tax bill of that size would equal 8.7% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Prince William County, VA
Renters in Prince William County, VA pay a median gross rent of $2,067 a month in the Census survey, 31% above the Virginia median of $1,579. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $2,204 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $530,100, 38% above the Virginia median of $383,700. Median household income is $131,402, 41% above the Virginia median of $93,170, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 20.1% of that income.
Commuting in Prince William County, VA
Workers in Prince William County, VA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 36.4 minutes each way, 33% above the Virginia average of 27.3. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 6.1 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 19.1% of workers in Prince William County, VA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Bus Drivers, School afford to live in Prince William County, VA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $57,610 that ceiling is $1,440 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,204 is $764 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $42.38 an hour; the median for Bus Drivers, School is $27.70, which is 35% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $22.07 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 23.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,438 a month means $1,219 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $11,820 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $24,294.
How fast you can save
At $1,039 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 10 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 20 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Bus Drivers, School pay in Prince William County, VA
How much do Bus Drivers, School make per hour in Prince William County, VA?
The median is $27.70 per hour, based on $57,610 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $18.40 at the 10th percentile to $35.65 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Bus Drivers, School take home after taxes in Prince William County, VA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $57,610 becomes $45,905 a year. That is $3,825 a month, $1,766 every two weeks or $883 a week.
How much tax do Bus Drivers, School pay in Prince William County, VA?
Total taxes are $11,705 a year, an effective rate of 20.3%: $4,785 federal income tax, $4,407 FICA and $2,513 Virginia income tax.
Do Bus Drivers, School earn more in Prince William County, VA than elsewhere in Virginia?
Yes. The local median of $57,610 is +8.2% versus the Virginia average of $53,257, a difference of $4,353 a year.
Can Bus Drivers, School afford a one-bedroom apartment in Prince William County, VA?
A one-bedroom costs $2,204 a month against take-home pay of $3,825, which is 57.6% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,440 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Bus Drivers, School in Prince William County, VA?
About $1,039 a month ($12,474 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $33,432 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Prince William County, VA at the 30% guideline?
$42.38 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $26,448 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Bus Drivers, School is $27.70.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Virginia rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.