Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,852
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$9,478
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,920
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$59,330
Kept after tax
$49,852
Worth in national money
$45,920
State rank
2
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Washington pays this job a middle wage of $59,330, ranking 2 of 51 states and sitting about 17.86% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Washington reports figures for, this is number 326.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $59,330 the take-home is $49,852. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $45,920 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $63,190, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Washington's median for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance is $59,330, about 17.86% above the national figure and 2 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Washington's occupational distribution, dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance sits at 326 of 493 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Washington income tax is $49,852 for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance, from $59,330. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $45,920. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $63,190 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 | $44,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,330 |
| Top tenth earn over | $88,000 |
| This salary | $59,330 |
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 Washington | $49,852 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,852 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,381 |
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 | $59,330 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,508 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Washington earn less than $59,330. The published range is $44,050 up to $88,000, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Washington the take-home figure of $49,852, from $59,330, 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 326 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Washington, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $45,920, the adjusted value of that $59,330 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 326 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance in Washington the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $44,050 to $88,000. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Washington is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $49,852 from $59,330. 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 326 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Washington, so $45,920 — the adjusted value of that $59,330 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 326 of 493 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 $63,190 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 $44,050 at the bottom tenth to $88,000 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Washington run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $45,920 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $49,852 of this wage reaches your account, because Washington takes no income tax from wages — but federal tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply exactly as they do everywhere else.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 Washington is $63,190. 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 ($44,050) and the ninetieth ($88,000) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $45,920 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $49,852 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.