Bus drivers, school job market in North Carolina

Name: Bus drivers, school in North Carolina: occupation-weighted industry context
Creator: JobMarketHealth

Industry trends, wages and hiring signals.

The headline

North Carolina industry employment changed 1.2 percentage points above the U.S. benchmark

A data-driven view of the industries that employ Bus drivers, school in North Carolina.

Verified QCEW 2026 Q1January to March 2026 · State coverage 100% · BLS QCEWCitation Evidence record

Occupation pay

What Bus drivers, school earn in North Carolina

BLS OEWS occupation-level pay estimates for this role — separate from the industry wage trends used elsewhere in this report.

BLS OEWS source

Median annual wage

$37,460North Carolina

Middle 50% of published wages: $35,370 – $44,480
U.S. median annual wage: $47,920
Reference period: May 2025

The middle 50% is the 25th-to-75th percentile wage range, not an experience-level band. Suppressed or unavailable BLS values remain unpublished rather than being estimated.

Pay around North Carolina

How median pay varies by metro area

Published BLS OEWS metro estimates for Bus drivers, school, compared with the North Carolina median of $37,460.

North Carolina median$37,460

Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC$50,190+34.0% vs. state

Middle 50%$46,300 – $59,700Published employment2,390

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC$46,020+22.9% vs. state

Middle 50%$37,480 – $46,740Published employment3,970

Durham-Chapel Hill, NC$40,650+8.5% vs. state

Middle 50%$38,700 – $45,490Published employment500

Rocky Mount, NC$40,600+8.4% vs. state

Middle 50%$31,360 – $40,600Published employment270

Asheville, NC$38,620+3.1% vs. state

Middle 50%$36,990 – $45,280Published employment260

Raleigh-Cary, NC$38,530+2.9% vs. state

Middle 50%$36,400 – $39,360Published employment2,120

View 9 more published metro areas

Greensboro-High Point, NC$37,280−0.5% vs. state

Middle 50%$36,660 – $44,710Published employment1,030

Burlington, NC$36,990−1.3% vs. state

Middle 50%$35,430 – $37,860Published employment70

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC$36,970−1.3% vs. state

Middle 50%$35,870 – $37,530Published employment250

Winston-Salem, NC$36,820−1.7% vs. state

Middle 50%$35,840 – $37,310Published employment630

Greenville, NC$36,500−2.6% vs. state

Middle 50%$35,550 – $36,500Published employment190

Wilmington, NC$36,490−2.6% vs. state

Middle 50%$35,590 – $38,000Published employment140

Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC$35,790−4.5% vs. state

Middle 50%$34,850 – $41,920Published employment60

Goldsboro, NC$35,190−6.1% vs. state

Middle 50%$34,160 – $38,360Published employment130

Fayetteville, NC$35,050−6.4% vs. state

Middle 50%$34,140 – $43,500Published employment450

Areas are ordered by published median wage for readability, not as an overall job-market ranking. The vertical marker is the North Carolina median. Some BLS metropolitan areas cross state lines, so a metro estimate can cover workers in more than one state.

Verified snapshot

Market at a Glance

Key changes in North Carolina’s weighted industry mix.

+2.1%Industry employmentNorth Carolina industry employmentU.S. +0.9%vs. +0.9% U.S.

+6.7%Establishments in weighted industriesNorth Carolina establishments in weighted industriesU.S. +3.8%vs. +3.8% U.S.

+1.8%Avg. weekly industry wageNorth Carolina avg. weekly industry wageU.S. +2.5% · not occupation payvs. +2.5% U.S. · not occupation pay

+1.2 ppGap vs. U.S. industry employmentState minus U.S. industry employment change

Percentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.

Published coverage: 102,958 represented establishments, 88.57% of the published industry mix.

Local research

What the data shows for bus drivers, school in North Carolina

Findings describe the published observation periods shown below. Research published Oct 11, 2026.

Private education and health services has the largest positive weighted contribution

Among the leading industry groups associated with this occupation in North Carolina, Private education and health services has the largest positive weighted contribution in January to March 2026. It accounts for 96.0% of the positive weighted contributions, and its own employment changed +4.1% year over year. The proxy uses each group's share of the occupation's national industry mix; the groups examined cover 99.9% of that mix. Weighted contributions do not count occupation jobs created.

January to March 2026 · BLS QCEW

Published median pay is below the U.S. median

North Carolina's published median annual wage for bus drivers, school is 21.8% below the national median in OEWS May 2025. The state estimate is $37,460, compared with $47,920 across the U.S. These medians are not adjusted for living costs and do not describe every worker.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Pay differs widely between metro areas

Fayetteville, NC and Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC define the low and high ends of this published median-pay comparison for North Carolina. Their estimates are $35,050 and $46,020, respectively, in OEWS May 2025; the high end is 31.3% higher. The comparison includes 14 metro areas on the same wage basis and does not measure living costs or job availability.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Metro estimates may include areas in neighboring states. The comparison covers published metro estimates, not every part of the state.

Industry measures describe the industries associated with this occupation. They are not direct occupation employment, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. Findings describe published data and do not establish causes. Methodology

Employment trends

North Carolina industry employment over time

Year-over-year change in the weighted industries. The U.S. line is the latest-quarter benchmark because a comparable national quarterly history is not published here.

Latest published values

North Carolina · 2026 Q1+2.1%
U.S. · latest-quarter benchmark+0.9%

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View every published value

Quarterly North Carolina industry employment changes and coverage
Quarter	North Carolina	Coverage
2024 Q2	+2.9%	100%
2024 Q3	+2.6%	100%
2024 Q4	+2.0%	100%
2025 Q1	+1.9%	100%
2025 Q2	+2.0%	100%
2025 Q3	+2.1%	100%
2025 Q4	+2.0%	100%
2026 Q1	+2.1%	100%

How to read this chart

State trend and national reference

The solid line follows North Carolina’s published year-over-year industry employment changes by quarter. The dashed U.S. line is a latest-quarter reference, not a second time series.

Published quarters: 8
Earliest quarter: 2024 Q2
Latest quarter: 2026 Q1
U.S. benchmark: +0.9%

Quarters with no published value are omitted rather than interpolated.

Industry context

Where Bus drivers, school Work

The occupation mix determines which North Carolina industries are weighted into this view.

Industries weighted into the North Carolina Bus drivers, school context
Industry group	Occupation mix	Employment change	Establishments	Avg. weekly industry wage
Private education and health services	52.7%	+4.1%	42,768	$1,288
Trade, transportation, and utilities	35.8%	+0.2%	60,190	$1,200
State and local	11.1%	-1.1%	6,790	$1,254
Other services	0.3%	+1.4%	29,500	$999
Professional and business services	0.0%	+1.1%	90,970	$2,041

Which industries are growing?

4 weighted industries are growing

Only weighted industries with a published positive North Carolina employment change are listed.

Private education and health services+4.1%
Other services+1.4%
Professional and business services+1.1%
Trade, transportation, and utilities+0.2%

The remaining weighted industries published a flat or negative change in January to March 2026.

Current North Carolina context

Current North Carolina Market Signals

Statewide indicators for all occupations in North Carolina. They are not Bus drivers, school demand and are not part of the Job Market Health score.

Statewide job postings

Indeed job postings · North Carolina

Recent hiring-demand context · separate from the health score

112.3Postings index · February 1, 2020 = 100Observation: Oct 23, 2026

+12.3%Versus the February 2020 baseline

-0.8%Change over about four weeksSep 25, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026

Total postings index (seasonally adjusted) by observation date · baseline 100

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View values: Indeed postings index

Indeed postings index
Observation date	Index (Feb 2020 = 100)
Jul 24, 2026	109.12
Jul 31, 2026	108.76
Aug 7, 2026	108.45
Aug 14, 2026	108.49
Aug 21, 2026	108.83
Aug 28, 2026	109.76
Sep 4, 2026	110.96
Sep 11, 2026	111.82
Sep 18, 2026	112.35
Sep 25, 2026	113.18
Oct 2, 2026	113.24
Oct 9, 2026	113.36
Oct 16, 2026	112.22
Oct 23, 2026	112.30

This is statewide demand across all occupations, not demand for this specific job. Postings are not a count of vacancies or hires, and Indeed does not cover the entire labor market.

Source: Indeed Hiring Lab · CC BY 4.0. Seven-day average, seasonally adjusted; publisher refreshes weekly and may revise history. Retrieved Nov 1, 2026 · saved source copy. JobMarketHealth calculates the displayed changes and samples weekly observations for the chart.

Explore states and career fields · Methodology and limits

Statewide layoff notices

Statewide WARN notices

North Carolina statewide

15 notices in this source

Notice dates from Aug 5, 2026 to Nov 2, 2026 (UTC), a rolling 90-calendar-day period.

What this means: This is the number of WARN notices with notice dates in this period in North Carolina’s official statewide list. It is a statewide count only, and does not identify any employer.

Notices describe planned workforce changes, not confirmed job losses. Notices may be amended or withdrawn. This statewide context is not occupation-specific and does not affect the Job Market Health score. WARN covers qualifying large layoffs and closures under applicable law, not all layoffs, and thresholds vary by state.

North Carolina Department of Commerce About WARN data

Source last checked 2026-11-02 17:20 UTC

Career context

Related roles from the occupation’s published O*NET profile.

Questions answered by this release

Bus drivers, school in North Carolina FAQs

Each answer is limited to what QCEW 2026 Q1 actually publishes for this state.

Is employment growing for Bus drivers, school in North Carolina?

The available QCEW measure is not direct occupation employment. Employment across the North Carolina industries weighted to Bus drivers, school changed +2.1% year over year in January to March 2026, compared with +0.9% nationwide.

Are wages for Bus drivers, school rising in North Carolina?

QCEW does not publish pay for Bus drivers, school in this view. Average weekly wages across the weighted industries changed +1.8% year over year; that must not be read as an occupation salary change.

How complete is this North Carolina industry view?

The three core state trends each meet the site’s coverage floor; the minimum published coverage is 100% of the occupation’s industry mix.

Does this page show current Bus drivers, school openings?

No. QCEW measures industry employment, establishments and wages. Any postings, news or WARN figures shown here are statewide context and are not occupation-specific openings.

Methodology & sourcesQCEW 2026 Q1 · coverage 100% · full evidence record

Methodology & Sources

Derived by JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix. This is occupation-weighted industry context, not direct occupation employment and not a count of current job openings.

Occupation: Bus drivers, school
SOC code: 53-3051
State: North Carolina
QCEW release label: QCEW 2026 Q1
Data period: 2026 Q1
State industry employment, year over year: +2.1%State data coverage 100%
U.S. benchmark, year over year: +0.9%
Difference from U.S. benchmark: +1.2 percentage pointsPercentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
Establishments, year over year: +6.7%State data coverage 100%
Average weekly industry wage, year over year: +1.8%State data coverage 100%
Industry mix vintage: EP-2025-2035
BLS publication date: Aug 28, 2026
Source verification: Verified against the committed source snapshotVerified Sep 17, 2026
Canonical record URL: https://jobmarkethealth.com/occupations/bus-drivers-school/north-carolina#evidence-record
Derived by: JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix

Methodology BLS QCEW How to cite QCEW state context release, 2026 Q1

Weighted industry conditions are not direct occupation employment, occupation wages, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. No causal explanation is inferred.