Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,292
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$9,498
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,672
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$48,790
Kept after tax
$39,292
Worth in national money
$43,672
State rank
33
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $48,790, ranking 33 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Alabama reports figures for, this is number 263.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $48,790 the take-home is $39,292; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $43,672 would nationally. The average comes to $50,890, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Alabama occupies the middle band for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance: a median of $48,790, ranking 33 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Alabama's occupational distribution, dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance sits at 263 of 482 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance in Alabama, on $48,790, is $39,292 — equivalent to $43,672 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $50,890 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,490 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,740 |
| This salary | $48,790 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $39,292 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,383 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,087 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $46,188 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,314 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance in Alabama earn under $48,790 and half over. The published range runs $34,490 at the tenth percentile to $72,740 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $39,292 take-home in Alabama comes from $48,790. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 263 of 482.
- Two cautions on $43,672, the adjusted value of that $48,790 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Alabama. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 263 of 482 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,490 to $72,740; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $39,292, from $48,790, assumes a single Alabama filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 263 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 33 of 51 for it.
- This $43,672 adjusted figure, worked from $48,790, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 263 of 482 in the state. The occupation ranks 263 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $50,890 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $34,490 at the bottom tenth to $72,740 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $43,672.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $39,292.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Alabama is $50,890. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($34,490) and the ninetieth ($72,740) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $43,672 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $39,292 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.