Pay · 43-5032
Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance earn $50,340 a year at the midpoint
The middle of the pay scale for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance is $50,340. A typical start is nearer $42,750; the top tenth earn about $78,140.
National figures for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance, 43-5032, from the 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
- Read the spread, not the middle. The median is the midpoint across everyone in the occupation, most of them years into the work. A beginner starts nearer the 10th to 25th percentile, which is why the spread is published alongside it.
- What the figure counts. The figure counts base pay plus tips, commissions and production bonuses. It leaves out the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers, and the value of benefits or profit sharing.
- The annual figure is arithmetic. For hourly occupations the annual figure is the hourly rate times 2080 hours. It is a calculation, not observed earnings: part time is the norm in retail and food service.
- Where you live moves it more than your resume does. National figures. A state or metro area can sit far from the national number, and that gap is usually larger than any difference a resume makes.
- Not in these numbers. Growth and annual openings are not in this dataset. They come from the separate Employment Projections tables, where an opening is a modelled ten year average and not a posted vacancy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025. Retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on 2026-08-13. bls.gov/oes “BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.”
Dispatcher earnings, from starting pay up to the top 10%
Pick the job, where you work and how long you have done it. The range comes from the published wage percentiles for that job.
The survey has no complete figures for that job — pick the closest title from the list.
An estimate from survey percentiles, not an offer. Employer, industry, shift and credentials move pay within and beyond this range. Full wage page for this job →
Dispatcher wages by state
The 36 states where the most people do this work, of 51 with a published figure: their medians range by 1.32 times. Figures are the 2025 survey.
| State | Median a year | Where most start | 10th to 90th | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $59,330 | $44,050 | $44,050 — $88,000 | 4,920 |
| Minnesota | $59,220 | $39,420 | $39,420 — $82,360 | 2,760 |
| New York | $55,810 | $36,720 | $36,720 — $105,780 | 11,160 |
| Massachusetts | $55,690 | $42,460 | $42,460 — $84,150 | 3,510 |
| Oregon | $54,980 | $40,630 | $40,630 — $77,470 | 3,290 |
| New Jersey | $54,590 | $39,730 | $39,730 — $79,890 | 6,420 |
| Colorado | $54,070 | $40,430 | $40,430 — $79,420 | 3,470 |
| Nebraska | $53,880 | $38,790 | $38,790 — $95,260 | 1,500 |
| California | $52,350 | $39,520 | $39,520 — $81,070 | 23,970 |
| Wisconsin | $52,350 | $36,090 | $36,090 — $75,910 | 3,240 |
| Missouri | $51,410 | $36,720 | $36,720 — $101,750 | 4,340 |
| Maryland | $51,350 | $36,740 | $36,740 — $80,320 | 3,310 |
| Utah | $51,010 | $36,550 | $36,550 — $74,870 | 2,040 |
| Virginia | $50,710 | $38,370 | $38,370 — $71,910 | 5,830 |
| Ohio | $50,320 | $35,540 | $35,540 — $76,430 | 5,720 |
| Indiana | $50,060 | $35,740 | $35,740 — $74,960 | 4,090 |
| Kentucky | $49,990 | $34,880 | $34,880 — $77,330 | 2,440 |
| Pennsylvania | $49,960 | $36,090 | $36,090 — $76,180 | 6,670 |
| Idaho | $49,660 | $30,630 | $30,630 — $78,630 | 1,430 |
| Tennessee | $49,660 | $34,850 | $34,850 — $69,420 | 4,190 |
| Michigan | $49,490 | $34,880 | $34,880 — $80,650 | 5,390 |
| Georgia | $49,180 | $32,770 | $32,770 — $74,700 | 6,190 |
| Alabama | $48,790 | $34,490 | $34,490 — $72,740 | 1,780 |
| North Carolina | $48,230 | $35,930 | $35,930 — $71,010 | 5,740 |
| Connecticut | $47,960 | $41,600 | $41,600 — $80,370 | 2,220 |
| Nevada | $47,920 | $34,860 | $34,860 — $77,600 | 2,840 |
| Arizona | $47,880 | $37,450 | $37,450 — $68,900 | 5,690 |
| South Carolina | $47,550 | $32,110 | $32,110 — $74,070 | 2,440 |
| Texas | $47,320 | $32,130 | $32,130 — $74,760 | 23,920 |
| Kansas | $47,170 | $32,400 | $32,400 — $72,480 | 1,670 |
| Arkansas | $47,130 | $30,020 | $30,020 — $65,160 | 1,780 |
| Louisiana | $47,050 | $32,350 | $32,350 — $73,820 | 2,980 |
| Iowa | $47,000 | $36,960 | $36,960 — $75,280 | 1,460 |
| Florida | $45,880 | $35,350 | $35,350 — $69,490 | 12,550 |
| Mississippi | $45,660 | $28,620 | $28,620 — $71,930 | 2,000 |
| Oklahoma | $44,950 | $31,170 | $31,170 — $71,760 | 2,180 |
Dispatcher pay rate, hourly to yearly
Starts at this job’s median. Change the rate or the hours; a full-time year is 40 hours for 52 weeks.
Writing a resume for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance
Name the job in the builder and the duties, skills and credentials it is screened on are written in for you.
- Scheduled or dispatched workers, work crews, equipment, or service vehicles to appropriate locations, according to customer requests, specifications, or needs, using radios or telephones.
- Prepared daily work and run schedules.
- Conferred with customers or supervising personnel to address questions, problems, or requests for service or equipment.
This page includes information from the 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. The owner of tiersi.com has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Examples
Resumes written for this kind of job.
Real sheets, filled in end to end — for this job and the ones beside it.
- Dispatcher Resume Template Office & Administrative
- 911 Dispatcher Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Meter Reader Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Courier Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Postal Clerk Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Mail Carrier Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Cargo and Freight Agent Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Mail Sorter Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Production Planner Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Shipping and Receiving Clerk Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Weigher and Checker Resume Template Office & Administrative
- Records Clerk Resume Template Office & Administrative
No. 514 of 788 by median pay
Better paid than 35% of the occupations in the survey.
- 512 Floor Sanders and Finishers $50,440
- 513 Costume Attendants $50,400
- 514 Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance $50,340
- 515 Carpet Installers $50,340
- 516 Statistical Assistants $50,330
Questions people ask
What is a dispatcher’s yearly income?
A dispatcher makes a median of $50,340 a year (2025 survey). The middle half earn between $42,750 and $62,450.
What is a dispatcher’s hourly pay rate?
The median pay rate is $24.20 an hour; the average is $54,740 a year.
What is the starting pay for a dispatcher?
Starting pay is usually near the 25th percentile, $42,750 a year, and sometimes as low as the 10th, $36,030.
Which state pays dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance the most?
District of Columbia, with a median of $72,260 a year.
How many people work as dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance?
About 202,810 in the United States — number 514 of 788 occupations by median pay.
Jobs that pay about the same
Median pay within $260 of what dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance earn — $50,340 a year — but not always the same spread.
- $70 less Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders $50,270median a year 10th percentile: $37,300 90th percentile: $70,320
- $80 less Highway Maintenance Workers $50,260median a year 10th percentile: $36,230 90th percentile: $71,970
- $260 less Credit Authorizers, Checkers, and Clerks $50,080median a year 10th percentile: $30,260 90th percentile: $72,700