Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers in Oregon
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$27,812
after federal, FICA and Oregon tax
Tax takes
$7,218
20.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$26,558
Oregon costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oregon — 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
$35,030
Kept after tax
$27,812
Worth in national money
$26,558
State rank
14
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Oregon is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $35,030, which ranks 14 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 4.32% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Oregon, this one sits low: 485 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $35,030, tax leaves $27,812 — and because Oregon is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $26,558 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $35,640, since top earners drag the number up.
- Oregon ranks 14 of 51 states publishing a median for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers, at $35,030 — about 4.32% 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.
- Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers occupies position 485 of 489 in Oregon'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.
- After tax, $27,812 remains from the Oregon median of $35,030 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $26,558 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $35,640 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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 | $30,560 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,030 |
| Top tenth earn over | $42,530 |
| This salary | $35,030 |
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 Oregon | $27,812 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,327 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,650 |
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 | $31,900 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,624 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 105 |
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 Oregon earn under $35,030 and half over. The published range runs $30,560 at the tenth percentile to $42,530 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 Oregon's $27,812, worked from $35,030. 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 485 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $26,558 uses one figure for the whole of Oregon. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 485.
- Figures are distribution medians for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in Oregon, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $30,560 to $42,530; 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 Oregon take-home of $27,812, on $35,030 for work ranking 485 of 489 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 485 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $26,558, worked from $35,030, 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 Oregon address, on work sitting at 485 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $30,560 at the bottom tenth to $42,530 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Oregon run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $26,558 — 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 Oregon adds its own income tax on top — which is why $27,812 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 ($30,560 to $42,530) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oregon rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Oregon's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $26,558 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 $27,812 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oregon 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.