Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,126
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$5,254
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,797
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$35,380
Kept after tax
$30,126
Worth in national money
$29,797
State rank
12
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Arizona pays this job a middle wage of $35,380, ranking 12 of 51 states and sitting about 5.36% above the national middle.
- Against 491 occupations Arizona publishes, this job lands at 475. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $35,380, tax leaves $30,126, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $29,797 in comparable terms. Here the average runs under the middle, at $35,010.
- Arizona's median for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers is $35,380, about 5.36% above the national figure and 12 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.
- Within Arizona, this work ranks 475 of 491 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Because Arizona sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers — median $35,380 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $30,126 retained, $29,797 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $35,010 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,580 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,380 |
| Top tenth earn over | $40,150 |
| This salary | $35,380 |
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 Arizona | $30,126 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,608 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,701 |
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 | $34,780 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,057 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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 lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in Arizona earn under $35,380 and half over. The published range runs $30,580 at the tenth percentile to $40,150 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $30,126, from $35,380, 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 475 of 491 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $29,797, the adjusted value of that $35,380 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Arizona. 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 475 of 491 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $30,580 to $40,150; 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 Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,126 from $35,380. 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 475 of 491 locally.
- This $29,797 adjusted figure, worked from $35,380, 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 475 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 475 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $30,580 at the tenth percentile, $40,150 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $29,797 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Arizona adds its own income tax on top — which is why $30,126 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,580 to $40,150) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $29,797 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $30,126 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.