Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,894
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$4,206
14.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,545
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$29,100
Kept after tax
$24,894
Worth in national money
$27,545
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Nebraska is 31 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $29,100. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Nebraska this is lower-paid work. Of 488 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 483. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Nebraska does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $29,100 you keep $24,894, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $27,545 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $30,680, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Nebraska ranks 31 of 51 for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers at $29,100. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Nebraska reports, lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers ranks 483 of 488, 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.
- After federal, FICA and Nebraska income tax, retained pay for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers on $29,100 is $24,894. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $27,545 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 $30,680 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 | $28,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $29,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $34,820 |
| This salary | $29,100 |
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 Nebraska | $24,894 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,562 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,240 |
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 | $28,275 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,500 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Nebraska earn less than $29,100. The published range is $28,080 up to $34,820, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Nebraska the take-home figure of $24,894, from $29,100, 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 483 of 488 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $27,545 uses one figure for the whole of Nebraska. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 483.
- Reported values are medians; for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in Nebraska the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,080 to $34,820. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Nebraska is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $24,894 from $29,100. 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 483 of 488 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $27,545, worked from $29,100, 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 Nebraska address, on work sitting at 483 of 488 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 $30,680 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $28,080 and the top tenth $34,820, so most people doing this work in Nebraska sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Nebraska is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $27,545 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; Nebraska then takes its own share, leaving $24,894.
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 Nebraska is $30,680. 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 ($28,080 to $34,820) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $27,545 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 $24,894 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.