Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,552
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$6,448
17.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,512
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$38,000
Kept after tax
$31,552
Worth in national money
$34,512
State rank
23
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $38,000, ranking 23 of 46 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Idaho, this one sits low: 412 of 476 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $38,000 you keep $31,552 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $34,512 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $36,690.
- Idaho occupies the middle band for switchboard operators, including answering service: a median of $38,000, ranking 23 of 46. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Switchboard operators, including answering service occupies position 412 of 476 in Idaho'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.
- Retained pay in Idaho is $31,552 after the full tax stack, from $38,000. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,512 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $36,690 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,380 |
| This salary | $38,000 |
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 Idaho | $31,552 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,713 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$848 |
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 | $36,555 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,025 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $38,000 as a midpoint for Idaho, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $23,000 and the ninetieth is $47,380 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $31,552 take-home in Idaho comes from $38,000. 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 412 of 476.
- Two cautions on $34,512, the adjusted value of that $38,000 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Idaho. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 412 of 476 locally.
- The Idaho median of $38,000 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $23,000 to $47,380. 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 $31,552, from $38,000, assumes a single Idaho 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 412 of 476 locally, and the state ranks 23 of 46 for it.
- This $34,512 adjusted figure, worked from $38,000, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 412 of 476 in the state. The occupation ranks 412 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $36,690, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $23,000 at the bottom tenth to $47,380 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $34,512.
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; Idaho then takes its own share, leaving $31,552.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Idaho is $36,690. 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 ($23,000 to $47,380) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $34,512 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 $31,552 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.