Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers in Georgia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,050
after federal, FICA and Georgia tax
Tax takes
$4,830
15.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$26,939
Georgia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Georgia — 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
$30,880
Kept after tax
$26,050
Worth in national money
$26,939
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Georgia pays this job around $30,880 at the midpoint, 24 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 492 occupations Georgia publishes, this job lands at 461. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Georgia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $30,880 you keep $26,050, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $26,939 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $30,840, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers the Georgia median is $30,880, ranking 24 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Within Georgia, this work ranks 461 of 492 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.
- After federal, FICA and Georgia income tax, retained pay for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers on $30,880 is $26,050. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $26,939 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 $30,840 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $24,420 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $30,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $38,480 |
| This salary | $30,880 |
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 Georgia | $26,050 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,992 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$838 |
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 | $29,707 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,013 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
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 Georgia earn under $30,880 and half over. The published range runs $24,420 at the tenth percentile to $38,480 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Georgia the take-home figure of $26,050, from $30,880, 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 461 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $26,939 uses one figure for the whole of Georgia. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 461.
- Figures are distribution medians for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in Georgia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $24,420 to $38,480; 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 Georgia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $26,050 from $30,880. 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 461 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $26,939, worked from $30,880, 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 Georgia address, on work sitting at 461 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $24,420 at the tenth percentile, $38,480 at the ninetieth.
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 $26,939.
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; Georgia then takes its own share, leaving $26,050.
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 ($24,420 to $38,480) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Georgia rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Georgia'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 $26,939 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 $26,050 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Georgia 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.