What is the typical salary range for a Public Safety Telecommunicator?

Pay typically falls between $47,000 and $66,500 per year depending on experience, location, industry, and organization size.

Public Safety Telecommunicator Salary: $58,500 Average

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Data current as of August 2026 · sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET

Average base salary

$58,500 / year

≈ $4,900 per month · $28.13 per hour

LocationOr metro area

25th percentile
$47,000Average
$58,50075th percentile
$66,500

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, aged to 2026 using compounded market movement. State selections show BLS state-level figures where published. Actual pay varies with experience, industry, and organization size.

Public Safety Telecommunicator salary by state

Alabama$42,500

Alaska$72,500

Arizona$59,500

Arkansas$40,500

California$84,500

Colorado$67,500

Connecticut$66,000

Delaware$61,000

District of Columbia$61,000

Florida$56,500

Georgia$46,000

Hawaii$61,000

Idaho$58,000

Illinois$66,000

Indiana$53,500

Iowa$59,500

Kansas$46,500

Kentucky$47,000

Louisiana$43,500

Maine$59,000

Maryland$62,500

Massachusetts$65,000

Michigan$56,500

Minnesota$72,000

Mississippi$38,000

Missouri$50,000

Montana$51,500

Nebraska$55,000

Nevada$63,500

New Hampshire$59,500

New Jersey$63,000

New Mexico$51,500

New York$64,000

North Carolina$49,000

North Dakota$59,500

Ohio$57,500

Oklahoma$44,500

Oregon$75,500

Pennsylvania$54,000

Rhode Island$61,000

South Carolina$45,500

South Dakota$50,500

Tennessee$50,000

Texas$53,500

Utah$60,000

Vermont$61,500

Virginia$55,000

Washington$79,000

West Virginia$43,000

Wisconsin$61,000

Wyoming$56,500

About this role

Public Safety Telecommunicator is a professional role within the function in the Office and Administrative Support job family.

Pay for this title reflects both its level and its scope; see our Title Level and Organization Responsibility guides for how WePayFairly defines them.

What Public Safety Telecommunicators do

Typical education: High School Diploma

Provide emergency medical instructions to callers.
Question callers to determine their locations and the nature of their problems to determine type of response needed.
Determine response requirements and relative priorities of situations, and dispatch units in accordance with established procedures.
Receive incoming telephone or alarm system calls regarding emergency and non-emergency police and fire service, emergency ambulance service, information, and after-hours calls for departments within a city.
Relay information and messages to and from emergency sites, to law enforcement agencies, and to all other individuals or groups requiring notification.

Top skills: Active Listening Speaking Social Perceptiveness Service Orientation Critical Thinking Coordination

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).

Public Safety Telecommunicator pay by experience level

Entry level$38,500

Typical starting pay (about the 10th percentile)

Early career$47,000

A few years in (about the 25th percentile)

Experienced$55,000

Mid-career median pay

Senior$66,500

Seasoned professionals (about the 75th percentile)

Top earners$82,500

Highest earners (about the 90th percentile)

Experience tiers are derived from the BLS wage percentile distribution for this occupation, aged to 2026. Actual pay varies by employer, location, and specialization.

Job outlook

+3.5%

projected change in jobs, 2024–2034

10,700

projected openings per year

Growing about as fast as average

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program (2024–2034). Openings include growth and replacement needs.

Public Safety Telecommunicator salary by industry

Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Schools and Hospitals and USPS

86,820 workers

$60,000

Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)

81,420 workers

$59,500

Ambulatory Health Care Services

5,470 workers

$50,000

State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)

5,400 workers

$65,000

Other Ambulatory Health Care Services

5,390 workers

$49,500

Educational Services

3,430 workers

$52,000

Administrative and Support Services

3,220 workers

$57,000

Hospitals

2,650 workers

$54,000

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals

2,580 workers

$54,000

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

2,540 workers

$52,500

National sector-level figures, BLS OEWS May 2025, aged to 2026.

How this role compares

Public Safety Telecommunicator pays 8% above the average across 55 roles in the Office and Administrative Support job family (family average $54,000).

Similar-paying roles in Office and Administrative Support

Financial Clerks, All Other$58,500

Cargo and Freight Agents$59,000

Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs$58,000

Statistical Assistant$57,500

Proofreaders and Copy Markers$56,500

Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators$61,500

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks$55,500

Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks$55,000

Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants$62,500

Loan Interviewers and Clerks$54,500

Careers related to Public Safety Telecommunicator

Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance$56,500

Emergency Medical Technician$48,500

First-Line Supervisors of Security Worker$62,000

Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service$44,000

Paramedic$65,500

Transit and Railroad Police$95,000

Related occupations from O*NET OnLine, U.S. Department of Labor.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Public Safety Telecommunicator make?

The average base salary for a Public Safety Telecommunicator in the United States is $58,500 per year, or about $28.13 per hour.

What is the typical salary range?

Pay typically falls between $47,000 and $66,500 per year (25th to 75th percentile) depending on experience, location, industry, and organization size.

How does this compare with other Office and Administrative Support roles?

The Office and Administrative Support job family averages $54,000 across 55 roles tracked by WePayFairly.

Need a defensible market price for this role?
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