Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance
Median $50,340
Occupation · SOC 43-5031
Public Safety Telecommunicators: pay and where the jobs are
What public safety telecommunicators earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$53,040 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $56,740
- Median hourly wage
- $25.50
- Mean hourly wage
- $27.28
- Employment
- 102,500
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 43-5031.
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How much do public safety telecommunicators make?
The median annual wage for public safety telecommunicators was $53,040 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $37,320 and the highest-paid 10% more than $79,830. As an hourly rate, the median is $25.50. About 102,500 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in California ($80,120), Washington ($78,850) and Oregon ($71,980). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in Washington.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for public safety telecommunicators looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $37,320 | $17.94 | $3,110 | $2,681 |
| 25th percentile | $45,210 | $21.74 | $3,768 | $3,209 |
| Median | $53,040 | $25.50 | $4,420 | $3,733 |
| 75th percentile | $64,260 | $30.90 | $5,355 | $4,484 |
| 90th percentile | $79,830 | $38.38 | $6,653 | $5,416 |
Public Safety Telecommunicators: pay by state
52 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$59,065 take-home in national prices
2
$56,590 take-home in national prices
3
$55,046 take-home in national prices
Where a median public safety telecommunicator paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 8,520 | $80,120 | $49,350 | $108,650 | $60,947 | $55,046 |
| Washington | 1,980 | $78,850 | $56,920 | $96,130 | $63,207 | $59,065 |
| Oregon | 1,110 | $71,980 | $53,750 | $96,530 | $54,187 | $52,425 |
| Alaska | 390 | $66,660 | $47,340 | $103,020 | $55,454 | $54,176 |
| Minnesota | 1,460 | $66,550 | $54,400 | $84,960 | $52,353 | $53,085 |
| Colorado | 1,800 | $63,520 | $48,250 | $83,750 | $50,852 | $49,346 |
| Connecticut | 1,820 | $62,410 | $49,290 | $78,810 | $49,332 | $47,613 |
| Massachusetts | 2,790 | $61,720 | $48,470 | $79,470 | $48,622 | $45,975 |
| New York | 5,470 | $61,450 | $45,950 | $79,630 | $48,537 | $44,975 |
| Illinois | 4,350 | $61,260 | $38,920 | $94,970 | $48,515 | $48,535 |
| Nevada | 1,010 | $60,040 | $45,170 | $87,240 | $50,422 | $50,433 |
| Wisconsin | 1,820 | $60,000 | $46,430 | $74,970 | $48,320 | $51,353 |
| North Dakota | 270 | $59,940 | $47,790 | $63,180 | $50,342 | $56,590 |
| Vermont | 280 | $59,470 | $47,520 | $73,500 | $48,406 | $49,415 |
| New Jersey | 4,010 | $59,240 | $46,080 | $79,040 | $47,615 | $43,762 |
| District of Columbia | 60 | $59,080 | $44,480 | $67,540 | $47,257 | $43,000 |
| Maryland | 1,610 | $58,910 | $46,840 | $76,500 | $47,082 | $44,857 |
| Rhode Island | 370 | $58,310 | $47,880 | $68,730 | $46,821 | $45,777 |
| New Hampshire | 560 | $58,240 | $45,810 | $70,600 | $48,976 | $47,018 |
| Ohio | 4,550 | $58,100 | $38,490 | $69,980 | $47,709 | $51,425 |
| Maine | 730 | $57,250 | $44,800 | $74,280 | $45,708 | $47,097 |
| Hawaii | 170 | $57,020 | $44,350 | $65,380 | $45,180 | $41,091 |
| Iowa | 980 | $56,770 | $47,340 | $72,000 | $46,289 | $52,744 |
| Arizona | 1,790 | $56,600 | $46,950 | $77,890 | $46,637 | $46,323 |
| Utah | 880 | $54,120 | $47,070 | $75,890 | $43,756 | $44,259 |
| Michigan | 2,100 | $53,310 | $40,970 | $67,440 | $43,000 | $44,690 |
| Delaware | 260 | $53,140 | $47,150 | $82,610 | $42,393 | $42,475 |
| Idaho | 580 | $51,780 | $43,360 | $75,560 | $42,149 | $44,138 |
| Wyoming | 350 | $50,600 | $45,100 | $69,720 | $42,837 | $46,215 |
| Virginia | 3,050 | $50,490 | $37,840 | $73,770 | $40,660 | $40,216 |
| Nebraska | 750 | $50,270 | $39,670 | $65,320 | $41,164 | $45,686 |
| Florida | 6,090 | $50,170 | $37,060 | $77,820 | $42,492 | $41,089 |
| Texas | 7,730 | $50,040 | $37,950 | $64,190 | $42,387 | $43,672 |
| Pennsylvania | 3,620 | $49,890 | $39,350 | $64,370 | $40,700 | $41,713 |
| New Mexico | 640 | $49,060 | $38,240 | $62,000 | $40,457 | $43,874 |
| Indiana | 2,150 | $49,050 | $38,730 | $63,660 | $40,174 | $43,046 |
| South Dakota | 420 | $47,900 | $36,960 | $60,310 | $40,668 | $45,908 |
| Montana | 560 | $47,640 | $39,310 | $61,270 | $38,976 | $41,182 |
| Missouri | 2,750 | $46,990 | $35,810 | $62,100 | $38,665 | $42,575 |
| North Carolina | 3,730 | $46,550 | $38,080 | $59,770 | $38,234 | $40,534 |
| Tennessee | 1,840 | $46,390 | $33,840 | $66,180 | $39,454 | $42,946 |
| Kentucky | 1,350 | $45,670 | $29,770 | $59,060 | $37,395 | $41,477 |
| Kansas | 1,370 | $45,110 | $34,930 | $58,960 | $36,708 | $40,756 |
| South Carolina | 1,490 | $43,540 | $34,520 | $56,930 | $36,577 | $39,016 |
| Georgia | 3,480 | $42,790 | $31,820 | $59,760 | $35,175 | $36,529 |
| West Virginia | 880 | $40,490 | $30,060 | $52,940 | $33,655 | $37,605 |
| Oklahoma | 1,930 | $39,890 | $29,760 | $61,490 | $32,982 | $37,547 |
| Alabama | 2,230 | $38,960 | $29,850 | $56,420 | $31,901 | $35,915 |
| Louisiana | 1,470 | $38,550 | $29,150 | $59,730 | $32,385 | $36,714 |
| Arkansas | 1,460 | $38,240 | $31,010 | $47,860 | $31,979 | $36,784 |
| Mississippi | 1,430 | $34,510 | $27,080 | $48,760 | $29,260 | $33,651 |
| Puerto Rico | 120 | $26,620 | $21,840 | $28,290 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 43-5031. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.