Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,009
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$9,401
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,780
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$51,410
Kept after tax
$42,009
Worth in national money
$45,780
State rank
20
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Missouri is 20 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $51,410. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 274 among 488 occupations Missouri publishes pay for.
- Here is where Missouri does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $51,410 you keep $42,009, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $45,780 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $59,420, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Missouri ranks 20 of 51 for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance at $51,410. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 274 of 488 in Missouri places dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Missouri income tax, retained pay for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance on $51,410 is $42,009. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $45,780 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $59,420 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $36,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,410 |
| Top tenth earn over | $101,750 |
| This salary | $51,410 |
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 Missouri | $42,009 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,488 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,028 |
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 | $49,569 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,244 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
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 Missouri earn under $51,410 and half over. The published range runs $36,720 at the tenth percentile to $101,750 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Missouri the take-home figure of $42,009, from $51,410, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 274 of 488 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $45,780 uses one figure for the whole of Missouri. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 274.
- Figures are distribution medians for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance in Missouri, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,720 to $101,750; 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.
- Take-home for Missouri is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $42,009 from $51,410. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 274 of 488 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $45,780, worked from $51,410, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Missouri address, on work sitting at 274 of 488 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 $59,420 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $36,720 and the top tenth $101,750 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Missouri sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $45,780 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Missouri then takes its own share, leaving $42,009.
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 Missouri is $59,420. 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 ($36,720) and the ninetieth ($101,750) 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?
Missouri'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 $45,780 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 $42,009 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.