School Bus Monitor / Aide: Pay & Requirements

Overview

Sourced

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.

O*NET definition of School Bus Monitors (SOC 33-9094) · Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed.

36,570

in government (SOC 33-9094)

47%

of this occupation works for government

$34,440

median pay in government

Local

levels of government

Titles employers use

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)

How people usually get in Editorial

application. Requirements vary by employer; each employer page will list its exact rules.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 — national estimates by ownership; U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), O*NET 31.0 Database; GovJobsWiki job taxonomy v1 (research round R240) (editorial). Data captured September 30, 2026.

Requirements

Sourced

Typical entry requirements (BLS, SOC 33-9094)

Education needed to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training

Education workers say the job requires

Less than a High School Diploma

High School Diploma or the equivalent

56%

Post-Secondary Certificate

15%

Some College Courses

22%

Bachelor's Degree

Share of surveyed workers in School Bus Monitors (SOC 33-9094) naming each level as required to be hired, 33 respondents, O*NET survey August 2026. Each employer sets its own minimum.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35 — education and training assignments by detailed occupation (Tables 5.3, 5.4); U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), O*NET 31.0 Database. Data captured September 30, 2026.

Academy and training

Sourced

Training to become competent (BLS)

SOC 33-9094: Short-term on-the-job training

Preparation level (O*NET)

Job zone: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Academy length, curriculum and paid-training policies are set by each employer and state; they are part of the employer collection stage.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35 — education and training assignments by detailed occupation (Tables 5.3, 5.4). Data captured September 30, 2026.

Promotion ladder

Editorial

Seniority steps: single title × seniority steps; growth via steps, overtime, bidding (bus operator, sanitation, dispatcher). Typical structure for a single title with seniority steps; titles, steps and timing differ by employer.

Trainee / probationary
Steps to top rate
Lead / trainer
Supervisor
Manager

Source: GovJobsWiki job taxonomy v1 (research round R240) (editorial).

Pay

Sourced

Federal

Not published

State

$36,770

Local

$34,440

All government

$34,440

Private sector

$35,520

Median annual wage by employer type, national, May 2025. Federal includes the U.S. Postal Service; state and local include public schools and hospitals.

Employer type	Workers	10th pct.	25th	Median	75th	90th
State	120	$30,580	$33,540	$36,770	$42,260	$44,450
Local	36,450	$26,300	$30,670	$34,440	$37,980	$44,930
All government	36,570	$26,350	$30,670	$34,440	$37,980	$44,930
Private sector	41,850	$29,300	$32,890	$35,520	$37,740	$41,720

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 — national estimates by ownership. Data captured September 30, 2026.

Schedule

Sourced

Work schedule

Regular

76%

Irregular

14%

Seasonal

Typical work week

Less than 40 hours

75%

40 hours

10%

More than 40 hours

15%

Share of surveyed workers in the occupation (O*NET work context, August 2026). Shift patterns and differentials depend on the employer.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), O*NET 31.0 Database. Data captured September 30, 2026.

Day-to-day work

Sourced

Buckle seatbelts or fasten wheelchair tie-down straps to secure passengers for transportation.4.8
Escort young children across roads or highways.4.8
Assist children with disabilities or children with psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues with boarding and exiting the school bus.4.7
Monitor the conduct of students to maintain discipline and safety.4.7
Evacuate students from the school bus in emergency situations.4.7
Direct students boarding and exiting the school bus.4.6
Direct students evacuating the bus during safety drills.4.5
Operate a wheelchair lift to load or unload wheelchairs.4.5
Report delays, accidents, or other traffic and transportation situations to dispatchers or other bus drivers, using phones or mobile two-way radios.4.4
Prevent or defuse altercations between students.4.4

The 10 most important of 16 core tasks for School Bus Monitors, ranked by importance (1–5) in the O*NET survey of August 2026.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), O*NET 31.0 Database. Data captured September 30, 2026.

13Derived

Employer directory

Sourced

13,321 school districts in the registry. Regular public school districts in the NCES Common Core of Data (charter-only districts are not included). The 10 largest by teachers (fte):

Employer	Location	Teachers (FTE)	Website
Chicago Public Schools Dist 299	Chicago, IL	23,532	Official site
Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles, CA	21,246	Official site
MIAMI-DADE	Miami, FL	17,139	Official site
Clark County	Las Vegas, NV	16,446	Official site
Fairfax County Public Schools	Falls Church, VA	13,501	Official site
Gwinnett County	Lawrenceville, GA	12,796	—
Hawaii Department of Education	Honolulu, HI	12,215	Official site
Montgomery County Public Schools	Rockville, MD	11,574	Official site
PALM BEACH	West Palm Beach, FL	11,548	Official site
ORANGE	Orlando, FL	11,416	Official site

Full lists by state:

Texas · 1,022 California · 988 Illinois · 855 New York · 717 Ohio · 619 New Jersey · 560 Michigan · 536 Missouri · 518 Oklahoma · 507 Pennsylvania · 500 Wisconsin · 420 Montana · 392

As reported by each employer to its federal registry.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2024–25 local education agency universe (directory and staff). Data captured September 30, 2026.

By state

Sourced

Median annual wage for School Bus Monitors (SOC 33-9094) in each state, all employers (BLS state estimates do not separate government from private). Highest first.

State	Workers	10th pct.	Median	90th pct.
Washington	470	$35,770	$42,330	$52,230
District of Columbia	Not published	$36,990	$41,720	$42,740
Oregon	380	$34,620	$40,900	$51,310
Hawaii	220	$32,130	$40,250	$45,240
Vermont	70	$34,900	$39,020	$54,530
Maryland	2,370	$32,480	$38,750	$47,550
Minnesota	790	$33,030	$38,590	$43,900
North Dakota	120	$33,070	$38,480	$45,720
California	1,260	$35,520	$38,360	$46,170
Maine	160	$30,470	$38,060	$46,770
Utah	470	$31,570	$38,020	$48,330
New Hampshire	120	$22,950	$37,620	$47,060
New York	19,090	$33,060	$36,910	$42,810
Wyoming	330	$31,060	$36,810	$46,390
Wisconsin	310	$29,130	$36,640	$43,410
Delaware	280	$31,200	$36,560	$46,690
Virginia	1,920	$28,220	$36,510	$46,020
New Mexico	330	$30,230	$36,250	$64,750
New Jersey	6,100	$32,220	$36,100	$43,570
Massachusetts	2,300	$33,690	$36,020	$42,270
Rhode Island	Not published	$31,200	$35,910	$44,460
Connecticut	1,520	$34,010	$35,350	$49,570
Pennsylvania	3,180	$29,040	$35,290	$41,720
Nebraska	480	$28,870	$34,750	$47,400
Montana	200	$30,620	$34,740	$44,510
Arizona	1,570	$30,580	$34,560	$41,440
South Dakota	140	$32,820	$34,380	$35,650
Missouri	1,530	$28,600	$34,220	$36,600
Florida	4,080	$28,220	$34,110	$39,650
Alaska	260	$30,840	$33,990	$37,720
Illinois	6,930	$31,200	$33,840	$38,390
Indiana	2,020	$27,640	$33,590	$38,500
Colorado	150	$30,800	$33,540	$37,020
North Carolina	1,360	$27,650	$32,970	$39,080
Iowa	520	$28,180	$32,740	$36,540
Michigan	1,860	$28,630	$32,480	$42,700
Idaho	340	$25,610	$32,230	$44,710
Georgia	2,870	$17,590	$30,130	$37,380
Kansas	1,240	$26,090	$29,420	$35,400
Texas	2,610	$23,360	$29,300	$37,400
Nevada	160	$25,130	$29,230	$40,260
Arkansas	780	$23,160	$28,260	$41,190
Kentucky	370	$19,820	$28,220	$34,940
Alabama	130	$23,920	$28,210	$41,820
Oklahoma	720	$17,830	$28,130	$35,230
Ohio	1,000	$26,580	$28,110	$62,070
Tennessee	830	$20,540	$27,250	$43,740
South Carolina	1,180	$17,490	$26,240	$36,090
Louisiana	1,170	$17,020	$25,250	$39,320
Mississippi	540	$16,910	$23,500	$34,280

50 states with published estimates.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 — state estimates. Data captured September 30, 2026.

Not yet collected

These dimensions are part of every job page. We publish them only once they are sourced from official documents such as job postings, pay plans, union contracts and state standards.

03 Hiring process
Ordered steps + typical timeline: application, written test (named), physical test (named), oral board, background, polygraph, psych, medical, eligibility list
Not yet collected
05 Probation
Probation length and what ends it
Not yet collected
09 Benefits and pension
Pension plan/tier and formula, retirement age/years, DROP, retiree health, Social Security coverage, 457(b), PSLF eligibility
Not yet collected
10 Union contracts
Bargaining unit, union, current CBA (source link, effective dates)
Not yet collected
11 Transfers and lateral entry
Lateral policy, certification reciprocity, lateral bonus, inter-agency moves
Not yet collected
14 Exam practice
Named exams → OpenExamPrep practice
Not yet collected

School Bus Monitor / Aide

Overview

Titles employers use

Requirements

Education workers say the job requires

Academy and training

Promotion ladder

Pay

Schedule

Day-to-day work

Related jobs

Employer directory

By state

Not yet collected