Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,300
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$8,540
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,796
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$48,840
Kept after tax
$40,300
Worth in national money
$35,796
State rank
3
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $48,840, which ranks 3 of 46 states with published figures. That is about 26.43% above the national middle.
- Within California this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 378. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $48,840 the take-home is $40,300. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $35,796 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $54,360, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California ranks 3 of 46 states publishing a median for switchboard operators, including answering service, at $48,840 — about 26.43% 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 California reports, switchboard operators, including answering service ranks 378 of 492, 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 California income tax is $40,300 for switchboard operators, including answering service, from $48,840. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,796. ⚠️ 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 $54,360 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,380 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,260 |
| This salary | $48,840 |
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 California | $40,300 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,423 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,831 |
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 | $47,442 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,261 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $48,840. The published range is $37,380 up to $79,260, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $40,300 take-home in California comes from $48,840. 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 378 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $35,796, the adjusted value of that $48,840 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 378 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for switchboard operators, including answering service in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,380 to $79,260. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $40,300, from $48,840, assumes a single California 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 378 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 3 of 46 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $35,796 — the adjusted value of that $48,840 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 378 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $54,360, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $37,380 at the bottom tenth to $79,260 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $35,796 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; California then takes its own share, leaving $40,300.
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.
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 California is $54,360. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($37,380) and the ninetieth ($79,260) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $35,796 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 $40,300 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.