Maintain order among students on a school bus. Duties include helping students safely board and exit and communicating behavioral problems. May perform pretrip and posttrip inspections and prepare for and assist in emergency evacuations.
National median · BLS
$35,100
▲ +0.34%YoY
H-1B sponsor median
—
Too few H-1B filings
Average salary · BLS
$35,150
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
78,420
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.
Pay range for School Bus Monitors
Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation.
Percentile
All U.S. workers (BLS)
10th — entry pay
$28,130
25th
$31,760
Median (50th)
$35,100
75th
$37,760
90th — top pay
$43,250
Hourly ⇄ annual pay
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Monthly—
Every 2 weeks—
Weekly—
Daily—
Based on
hrs/week ×
weeks/year
= 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035
Job outlook for School Bus Monitors
BLS projects employment of school bus monitors to decline 1.9% from 2025 to 2035, while employment across all occupations grows 3.5%.
About 13,400 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.
Jobs 2025 → 2035
76,700 → 75,300
-1,400 jobs
Projected change
-1.9%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
13,400
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
No related experience required
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 2)
Very Little to Some Preparation Needed. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035
School Bus Monitors salaries by state
BLS state medians, plus the same figure adjusted for local prices (BEA Regional Price Parities). Tap a state for its full range and H-1B pay.
State
Median
Jobs
Cost-adjusted
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School Bus Monitors salaries by metro area
Search by city, ZIP code or metro name. Tap a metro for its full range.
Metro area
Median
Jobs
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Skills & tools
Skills needed for School Bus Monitors
How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.
Top skills
Monitoring3.8
Social Perceptiveness3.3
Speaking3.3
Active Listening3.0
Service Orientation3.0
Coordination2.9
Critical Thinking2.9
Judgment and Decision Making2.9
Persuasion2.8
Reading Comprehension2.8
Top knowledge areas
Public Safety and Security3.7
English Language3.5
Transportation3.3
Customer and Personal Service3.2
Education and Training2.9
Psychology2.8
Administration and Management2.5
Administrative2.3
Software and technology used
Microsoft WindowsWeb browser software
Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
About the job
What school bus monitors do
Buckle seatbelts or fasten wheelchair tie-down straps to secure passengers for transportation.
Escort young children across roads or highways.
Assist children with disabilities or children with psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues with boarding and exiting the school bus.
Monitor the conduct of students to maintain discipline and safety.
Evacuate students from the school bus in emergency situations.
Direct students boarding and exiting the school bus.
Direct students evacuating the bus during safety drills.
Operate a wheelchair lift to load or unload wheelchairs.
Also called
Bus AideBus AssistantBus MonitorBus ParaeducatorBus AttendantSchool Bus AideSchool Transportation AideSPED Bus Aide (Special Ed Bus Aide)SPED Bus Paraeducator (Special Education Bus Paraeducator)SPED School Bus Monitor (Special Education School Bus Monitor)
More job titles for this occupation (4)
School Bus AssistantSchool Bus AttendantSchool Bus EscortSchool Bus Matron
Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.
Similar jobs and how they pay
Occupations O*NET lists as closely related to School Bus Monitors, with BLS national medians compared with this occupation's $35,100.
