California State Controller's Office and City of Los Angeles, CA · 2025 pay · 2,919 people
How much does a bus operator make in California State Controller's Office and City of Los Angeles, CA?
$80,643typical pay for a bus operator in 2025
$60,783 – $102,439what most people earned
Includes everyone paid during 2025, including part-year workers. Typical pay rose 3.9% from 2024.
✓ Official data from 3 agencies · Matches each agency's latest release · Show sourcesHide sources
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- LA City Controller · controller.lacity.gov ↗
Where bus operators work
Typical pay at each employer, 2025 (everyone paid).
- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority971 people$101,500
- Sacramento Regional Transit System450 people$82,534
- Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District242 people$67,308
- Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District200 people$96,343
- Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District145 people$72,634
- City of Montebello144 people$74,928
- Gold Coast Transit District132 people$73,212
- City of Gardena113 people$49,467
- City of Torrance107 people$78,141
- City of Culver City103 people$89,783
- San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority (RTA)84 people$54,587
- City of Santa Rosa51 people$74,394
- Tahoe Transportation District50 people$18,549
- City of Norwalk41 people$76,181
- Los Angeles40 people$108,088
- City of Commerce36 people$75,088
- City of Inglewood10 people$36,742
No employers match.
Pay by level
Levels with 5 or more people.
- Bus Operator II36 people$75,088
- Bus Operator2,883 people$80,858
Related jobs and the next step up
Same line of work at a different rank, by typical pay (full-year employees where we can tell).
- Bus Operator Trainee$7,375 (everyone)
- Bus Operator (this page)$80,643 (everyone)
- Bus Operator Supervisor$138,555 (everyone)
Highest-paid bus operators, 2025
- 1Derrick SmithBus Operator · Los Angeles$258,835
- 2Lisa FondjoBus Operator · Los Angeles$195,615
- 3Marcos FigueroaBus Operator · Los Angeles$174,040
- 4George DorseyBus Operator · Los Angeles$171,284
- 5Ricardo GonzalezBus Operator · Los Angeles$163,276
Common questions
How much does a bus operator make in California State Controller's Office and City of Los Angeles, CA?
The typical bus operator was paid $80,643 in 2025; most earned between $60,783 and $102,439. This counts all 2,919 people paid, including part-year workers.
How much of the pay is overtime?
Overtime made up 10.9% of all pay for bus operators in 2025.
Which job titles are included?
Everyone whose payroll title is Bus Operator, at any level (for example "Bus Operator II"). Part-time-schedule titles (such as "20 hours") are left out. Senior, supervising and trainee titles have their own pages.
Job titles are written out in full from the payroll's abbreviations (for example "SR CRRECTNL POLC OFCR" → "Senior Correctional Police Officer"). "Typical pay" is the median; "most earned" is the middle half. How we calculate this