Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers in Vermont
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,179
after federal, FICA and Vermont tax
Tax takes
$5,851
16.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,230
Vermont costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Vermont — 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
$36,030
Kept after tax
$30,179
Worth in national money
$31,230
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Vermont's middle earner gets $36,030, putting the state 8 of 51 — about 7.3% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Vermont this is lower-paid work. Of 453 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 442. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $36,030 you keep $30,179 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $31,230 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $36,720, since top earners drag the number up.
- For lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers, Vermont sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $36,030, ranking 8 of 51 and running about 7.3% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Against every occupation Vermont reports, lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers ranks 442 of 453, 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 in Vermont is $30,179 after the full tax stack, from $36,030. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $31,230 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $36,720 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 | $30,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,030 |
| Top tenth earn over | $42,140 |
| This salary | $36,030 |
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 Vermont | $30,179 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,130 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$805 |
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 | $34,847 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$973 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $36,030 as a midpoint for Vermont, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,150 and the ninetieth is $42,140 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $30,179 take-home in Vermont comes from $36,030. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 442 of 453.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $31,230 uses one figure for the whole of Vermont. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 453 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 442.
- The Vermont median of $36,030 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,150 to $42,140. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $30,179, from $36,030, assumes a single Vermont filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 442 of 453 locally, and the state ranks 8 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $31,230, worked from $36,030, 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 Vermont address, on work sitting at 442 of 453 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $30,150 at the bottom tenth to $42,140 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Vermont is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $31,230 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Vermont's own levy, $30,179 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,150 to $42,140) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Vermont rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Vermont'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 $31,230 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 $30,179 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.