Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,576
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$6,504
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,410
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$37,080
Kept after tax
$30,576
Worth in national money
$29,410
State rank
31
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $37,080, ranking 31 of 46 states — about 4.01% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Maryland, this one sits low: 453 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Maryland is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $37,080 the take-home is $30,576; in national-average money that behaves like $29,410. The average comes to $39,300, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Maryland ranks 31 of 46 for switchboard operators, including answering service, with a median of $37,080 — about 4.01% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Switchboard operators, including answering service occupies position 453 of 489 in Maryland'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.
- Take-home for switchboard operators, including answering service in Maryland, on $37,080, is $30,576; deflated by the state's price level, $29,410. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $39,300 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 | $31,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,080 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,790 |
| This salary | $37,080 |
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 Maryland | $30,576 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,974 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,493 |
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 | $35,341 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,225 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maryland earn less than $37,080. The published range is $31,990 up to $47,790, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Maryland the take-home figure of $30,576, from $37,080, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 453 of 489 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $29,410 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. 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 453.
- Reported values are medians; for switchboard operators, including answering service in Maryland the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,990 to $47,790. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Maryland is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,576 from $37,080. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 453 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $29,410, worked from $37,080, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 453 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $39,300 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,990 at the tenth percentile, $47,790 at the ninetieth.
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 $29,410 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 Maryland's own levy, $30,576 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.
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 Maryland is $39,300. 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 ($31,990 to $47,790) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $29,410 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 $30,576 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.