Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$19,644
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$2,596
11.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$22,235
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$22,240
Kept after tax
$19,644
Worth in national money
$22,235
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $22,240, ranking 51 of 51 states — about 33.77% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Louisiana, this one sits low: 481 of 484 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Louisiana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $22,240 the take-home is $19,644; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $22,235 would nationally. The average comes to $24,230, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Louisiana ranks 51 of 51 for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers, with a median of $22,240 — about 33.77% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers occupies position 481 of 484 in Louisiana's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in Louisiana, on $22,240, is $19,644 — equivalent to $22,235 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 $24,230 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $20,480 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $22,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $30,990 |
| This salary | $22,240 |
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 Louisiana | $19,644 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $19,925 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,731 |
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 | $21,899 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,043 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 Louisiana earn under $22,240 and half over. The published range runs $20,480 at the tenth percentile to $30,990 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Louisiana's $19,644, worked from $22,240. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 481 of 484.
- Two cautions on $22,235, the adjusted value of that $22,240 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Louisiana. 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 481 of 484 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $20,480 to $30,990; 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.
- The Louisiana take-home of $19,644, on $22,240 for work ranking 481 of 484 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 481 of 484 in the state.
- This $22,235 adjusted figure, worked from $22,240, 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 481 of 484 in the state. The occupation ranks 481 of 484 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 $24,230 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $20,480 at the tenth percentile, $30,990 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $22,235 in national terms.
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; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $19,644.
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 Louisiana is $24,230. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($20,480 to $30,990) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana'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 $22,235 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 $19,644 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.