Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,641
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$5,879
17.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,548
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$34,520
Kept after tax
$28,641
Worth in national money
$27,548
State rank
17
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $34,520, which ranks 17 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 2.8% above the national middle.
- Within Maryland this is lower-paid work. Of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 482. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $34,520 the take-home is $28,641. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $27,548 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $34,970, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maryland ranks 17 of 51 states publishing a median for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers, at $34,520 — about 2.8% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Against every occupation Maryland reports, lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers ranks 482 of 489, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $28,641 for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers, from $34,520. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $27,548. ⚠️ 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 $34,970 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,520 |
| Top tenth earn over | $40,550 |
| This salary | $34,520 |
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 Maryland | $28,641 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,917 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,238 |
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 | $32,932 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,916 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maryland earn less than $34,520. The published range is $31,200 up to $40,550, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Maryland the take-home figure of $28,641, from $34,520, 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 482 of 489 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maryland, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $27,548, the adjusted value of that $34,520 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 482 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in Maryland the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,200 to $40,550. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Maryland is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $28,641 from $34,520. 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 482 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maryland, so $27,548 — the adjusted value of that $34,520 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 482 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,200 and the top tenth $40,550, so most people doing this work in Maryland sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $27,548 of national purchasing power.
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 Maryland adds its own income tax on top — which is why $28,641 of this wage survives to your account.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,200 to $40,550) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $27,548 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 $28,641 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.