Best Cities for Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercitys

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where bus drivers, transit and intercitys get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	Columbus, OHMetro	1.34	$73,790	$78,920	21%
2	New YorkState	1.27	$84,480	$75,093	26%
3	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.26	$80,170	$74,369	27%
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.24	$83,430	$72,992	32%
5	OhioState	1.18	$62,760	$69,425	20%
6	MissouriState	1.16	$60,660	$68,465	20%
7	WashingtonState	1.14	$72,280	$67,363	32%
8	IllinoisState	1.13	$65,200	$66,940	24%
9	IndianaState	1.09	$58,410	$64,541	22%
10	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$59,720	$64,562	24%
11	OregonState	1.08	$65,510	$63,602	29%
12	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.08	$59,360	$63,966	26%
13	HawaiiState	1.05	$68,500	$62,273	42%
14	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.05	$70,120	$61,780	44%
15	AlaskaState	1.04	$64,150	$61,505	26%
16	KentuckyState	1.04	$54,550	$61,638	21%
17	NevadaState	1.04	$61,700	$61,577	28%
18	CaliforniaState	1.03	$67,130	$60,641	40%
19	MassachusettsState	1.02	$65,460	$60,332	41%
20	ColoradoState	1.01	$63,010	$59,782	35%
21	DelawareState	1.01	$60,510	$59,911	27%
22	MarylandState	1.01	$65,220	$59,725	31%
23	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.99	$68,020	$58,386	40%
24	MaineState	0.98	$57,870	$57,986	27%
25	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.98	$56,120	$57,737	34%
26	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.98	$65,220	$57,819	37%
27	WisconsinState	0.97	$52,660	$57,053	25%
28	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.97	$57,050	$57,337	31%
29	OklahomaState	0.96	$50,300	$56,836	23%
30	ConnecticutState	0.95	$60,100	$55,855	31%
31	New JerseyState	0.95	$61,140	$56,195	35%
32	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.94	$50,880	$55,304	31%
33	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.93	$57,800	$54,631	35%
34	LouisianaState	0.92	$48,860	$54,229	26%
35	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.92	$52,100	$54,158	36%
36	ArizonaState	0.90	$53,870	$53,389	33%
37	PennsylvaniaState	0.90	$51,360	$52,948	30%
38	North DakotaState	0.89	$48,890	$52,797	24%
39	VermontState	0.89	$53,830	$52,517	32%
40	New HampshireState	0.88	$54,830	$51,726	35%
41	TennesseeState	0.88	$47,770	$52,208	32%
42	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	0.88	$47,460	$52,039	31%
43	IowaState	0.87	$45,890	$51,446	25%
44	MichiganState	0.87	$47,660	$51,636	28%
45	MinnesotaState	0.87	$50,200	$51,224	31%
46	VirginiaState	0.87	$52,940	$51,150	36%
47	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.87	$53,020	$51,227	36%
48	IdahoState	0.86	$49,000	$50,777	29%
49	TexasState	0.86	$48,740	$50,983	34%
50	UtahState	0.86	$50,730	$50,629	35%
51	NebraskaState	0.84	$45,120	$49,311	28%
52	New MexicoState	0.84	$45,610	$49,576	28%
53	WyomingState	0.83	$45,630	$49,065	26%
54	District of ColumbiaState	0.82	$55,580	$48,626	45%
55	GeorgiaState	0.82	$45,500	$48,715	37%
56	Rhode IslandState	0.82	$48,610	$48,368	37%
57	FloridaState	0.81	$48,300	$47,586	43%
58	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.81	$46,430	$47,965	42%
59	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.81	$46,830	$47,543	44%
60	MontanaState	0.80	$45,640	$47,344	30%
61	South CarolinaState	0.80	$43,330	$47,098	35%
62	North CarolinaState	0.79	$44,060	$46,674	35%
63	West VirginiaState	0.79	$39,260	$46,627	26%
64	KansasState	0.78	$41,340	$45,933	30%
65	South DakotaState	0.78	$41,590	$45,804	28%
66	MississippiState	0.77	$38,570	$45,483	28%
67	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.76	$42,830	$44,708	42%
68	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.75	$48,300	$44,516	51%
69	ArkansasState	0.74	$37,520	$43,476	28%
70	AlabamaState	0.73	$37,700	$43,284	30%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).