Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance Salaries by State

Q: How much do dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance make in the U.S.?

The median dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance salary in the United States is $50,340 per year (mean $54,740), and about 80% earn between $36,030 and $78,140.

Q: How much do dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance make per hour?

Roughly $26 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $54,740 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Q: Which state pays dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance the most?

District of Columbia has the highest average pay for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance at $70,320 per year (median $72,260).

Q: What is the job outlook for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance?

Employment is projected to change -0.9% from 2024 to 2034 (Decline), with about 18,500 openings per year.

Mean and median pay, wage percentiles, employment, and top-paying metro areas for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulances across the U.S. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (data.bls.gov OEWS tool /OESServices/combo/table, all-occupation crawl by area).

National mean salary $54,740 ≈ $26/hr

National median salary $50,340

Total employment 202,810 nationwide

Job Outlook, 2024–2034

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034.

Projected growth -0.9% Decline

Annual openings 18,500 per year (avg)

Employment 2024→2034 218,700 → 216,700 (-2,100)

Typical entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Salary Map

Brighter tiles = higher average pay; dashed tiles have no data. Click a state for details.

AK ME WI VT NH WA ID MT ND MN IL MI NY MA OR NV WY SD IA IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA UT CO NE MO KY WV VA MD DE AZ NM KS AR TN NC SC DC OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL

Mean annual wage $44,000–$51,000 $51,000–$53,000 $53,000–$56,000 $56,000–$59,000 $59,000–$70,000 U.S. mean $54,740

💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying States

District of Columbia$70,320
Alaska$64,690
Washington$63,190
New York$61,990
Hawaii$60,880

📉 5 Lowest-Paying States

South Dakota$43,860
New Mexico$47,930
Oklahoma$48,360
Arkansas$48,420
Mississippi$48,500

State Rankings

⇄ Compare specific states

#	State	Mean	Median	Hourly	vs. U.S.	Employment
1	District of Columbia	$70,320	$72,260	$34	+28.5%	300
2	Alaska	$64,690	$56,730	$31	+18.2%	570
3	Washington	$63,190	$59,330	$30	+15.4%	4,920
4	New York	$61,990	$55,810	$30	+13.2%	11,160
5	Hawaii	$60,880	$52,570	$29	+11.2%	950
6	Massachusetts	$60,350	$55,690	$29	+10.2%	3,510
7	Minnesota	$59,990	$59,220	$29	+9.6%	2,760
8	North Dakota	$59,450	$57,580	$29	+8.6%	600
9	Missouri	$59,420	$51,410	$29	+8.5%	4,340
10	Illinois	$59,400	$57,240	$29	+8.5%	—
11	Nebraska	$58,570	$53,880	$28	+7%	1,500
12	Colorado	$58,140	$54,070	$28	+6.2%	3,470
13	New Jersey	$58,030	$54,590	$28	+6%	6,420
14	Oregon	$57,970	$54,980	$28	+5.9%	3,290
15	California	$57,950	$52,350	$28	+5.9%	23,970
16	Maine	$57,750	$55,150	$28	+5.5%	670
17	Vermont	$56,750	$56,360	$27	+3.7%	260
18	Rhode Island	$56,460	$49,320	$27	+3.1%	530
19	Maryland	$56,110	$51,350	$27	+2.5%	3,310
20	Delaware	$55,810	$57,170	$27	+2%	670
21	New Hampshire	$55,810	$52,770	$27	+2%	710
22	Connecticut	$55,470	$47,960	$27	+1.3%	2,220
23	Wisconsin	$54,690	$52,350	$26	-0.1%	3,240
24	Kentucky	$54,600	$49,990	$26	-0.3%	2,440
25	Virginia	$54,230	$50,710	$26	-0.9%	5,830
26	Indiana	$54,170	$50,060	$26	-1%	4,090
27	Michigan	$54,140	$49,490	$26	-1.1%	5,390
28	Ohio	$53,890	$50,320	$26	-1.6%	5,720
29	Pennsylvania	$53,490	$49,960	$26	-2.3%	6,670
30	Utah	$53,460	$51,010	$26	-2.3%	2,040
31	Wyoming	$53,220	$48,690	$26	-2.8%	240
32	Idaho	$52,930	$49,660	$25	-3.3%	1,430
33	Georgia	$52,030	$49,180	$25	-5%	6,190
34	Montana	$52,020	$47,140	$25	-5%	810
35	Iowa	$51,790	$47,000	$25	-5.4%	1,460
36	Nevada	$51,760	$47,920	$25	-5.4%	2,840
37	Kansas	$51,400	$47,170	$25	-6.1%	1,670
38	Arizona	$51,250	$47,880	$25	-6.4%	5,690
39	North Carolina	$51,240	$48,230	$25	-6.4%	5,740
40	Tennessee	$51,130	$49,660	$25	-6.6%	4,190
41	Alabama	$50,890	$48,790	$24	-7%	1,780
42	Texas	$50,770	$47,320	$24	-7.3%	23,920
43	South Carolina	$50,740	$47,550	$24	-7.3%	2,440
44	Louisiana	$50,030	$47,050	$24	-8.6%	2,980
45	Florida	$49,620	$45,880	$24	-9.4%	12,550
46	West Virginia	$48,850	$46,620	$23	-10.8%	880
47	Mississippi	$48,500	$45,660	$23	-11.4%	2,000
48	Arkansas	$48,420	$47,130	$23	-11.5%	1,780
49	Oklahoma	$48,360	$44,950	$23	-11.7%	2,180
50	New Mexico	$47,930	$43,960	$23	-12.4%	1,350
51	South Dakota	$43,860	$43,920	$21	-19.9%	860

Top-Paying Metro Areas

Highest median pay among 510 metro areas.

#	Metro area	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$64,890	$63,400	100
2	Western Washington nonmetropolitan area	$64,160	$69,400	240
3	Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area	$62,650	$62,790	170
4	Northeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area	$62,370	$64,920	40
5	Fairbanks-College, AK	$62,130	$68,700	80
6	Fargo, ND-MN	$61,260	$62,100	150
7	West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area	$61,010	$63,470	180
8	Barnstable Town, MA	$60,890	$59,180	120
9	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$60,780	$66,940	720
10	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$59,560	$61,100	1,770

Pay by Industry

Highest-paying industries employing dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulances (BLS OEWS, by median).

#	Industry	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Rail Transportation	$95,260	$96,420	1,530
2	Rail Transportation	$95,260	$96,420	1,530
3	Metal Ore Mining	$92,700	$92,070	100
4	Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation	$88,950	$91,210	170
5	Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations	$87,680	$87,560	450
6	Natural Gas Distribution	$85,090	$92,190	680
7	Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations	$83,720	$77,990	610
8	Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	$77,320	$80,410	290
9	Postal Service (Federal Government)	$76,550	$74,230	30
10	Postal Service (Federal Government)	$76,550	$74,230	30
11	Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	$73,530	$73,530	260
12	Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	$73,530	$73,530	260

Workforce Deep-Dive

Distribution and demographics from Census ACS (2023, self-reported). Wage figures here are ACS averages and run lower than the authoritative BLS wages above; use them for shape, not exact pay.

Annual wage distribution

< $10K

46,021

$10-20k

16,211

$20-30k

22,272

$30-40k

37,582

$40-50k

42,530

$50-60k

30,333

$60-70k

18,713

$70-80k

12,737

$80-90k

7,458

$90-100k

4,445

$100-110k

1,998

$110-120k

1,833

$120-130k

1,856

$130-140k

924

$140-150k

542

$150-160k

540

$160-170k

295

$170-180k

780

$180-190k

$190-200k

583

$200k+

661

Pay by age band

16-24

$22,499

25-34

$39,085

35-44

$45,680

45-54

$50,288

55-64

$49,636

65+

$26,937

Education level

Regular high school diploma

$41,971

1 or more years of college credit, no degree

$37,656

Bachelors Degree

$49,600

Associates Degree

$41,987

Some college, but less than 1 year

$41,535

GED or alternative credential

$35,174

Masters Degree

$44,208

12th grade - no diploma

$38,715

Grade 11

$34,508

No schooling completed

$61,231

Grade 9

$40,368

Doctorate degree

$55,419

Grade 8

$35,914

Grade 10

$29,072

Grade 7

$40,235

Grade 6

$18,847

Grade 5

$35,683

Professional degree

$46,566

Nursery school, preschool

$36,703

Grade 2

$29,362

Full-time vs part-time

Full-time

186,130 · $51,550

Part-time

23,321 · $21,349

Race / ethnicity

White

$42,558

Black

$39,738

Two or More Races

$42,153

Other

$41,598

Asian

$37,549

American Indian

$27,563

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander

$33,724

American Indian and Alaska Native tribes specified; or American Indian or Alaska Native, not specified and no other races

$20,766

Alaska Native

—

Top fields of study

Business Management And Administration

$45,273

General Business

$59,386

Criminal Justice And Fire Protection

$36,032

Psychology

$55,534

English Language And Literature

$48,374

Physical Fitness Parks Recreation And Leisure

$47,405

Liberal Arts

$46,087

Transportation Sciences And Technologies

$105,624

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance make in the U.S.?

The median dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance salary in the United States is $50,340 per year (mean $54,740), and about 80% earn between $36,030 and $78,140.

How much do dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance make per hour?

Roughly $26 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $54,740 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Which state pays dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance the most?

District of Columbia has the highest average pay for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance at $70,320 per year (median $72,260).

What is the job outlook for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance?

Employment is projected to change -0.9% from 2024 to 2034 (Decline), with about 18,500 openings per year.