Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,018
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$6,362
15.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,647
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$40,380
Kept after tax
$34,018
Worth in national money
$33,647
State rank
14
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Arizona pays this job a middle wage of $40,380, ranking 14 of 46 states and sitting about 4.53% above the national middle.
- Within Arizona this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 424. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $40,380, take-home of $34,018 is worth roughly $33,647 in national money. The average comes to $41,380, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arizona's median for switchboard operators, including answering service is $40,380, about 4.53% above the national figure and 14 of 46 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Against every occupation Arizona reports, switchboard operators, including answering service ranks 424 of 491, 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.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for switchboard operators, including answering service, whose median is $40,380, the adjusted figure of $33,647 differs little from $34,018 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $41,380 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $40,380 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,200 |
| This salary | $40,380 |
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 Arizona | $34,018 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,625 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,985 |
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 | $39,625 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,401 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $40,380 as a midpoint for Arizona, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $35,060 and the ninetieth is $50,200 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Arizona's $34,018, worked from $40,380. 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 424 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arizona, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $33,647, the adjusted value of that $40,380 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 424 of 491 in the state.
- The Arizona median of $40,380 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $35,060 to $50,200. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Arizona take-home of $34,018, on $40,380 for work ranking 424 of 491 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 424 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arizona, so $33,647 — the adjusted value of that $40,380 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 424 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $35,060 at the bottom tenth to $50,200 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $33,647 of national purchasing power.
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 Arizona's own levy, $34,018 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,060 to $50,200) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $33,647 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 $34,018 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.