Public Safety Telecommunicators Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 43-5031 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Is this a competitive Public Safety Telecommunicators salary in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS June 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
How Public Safety Telecommunicators pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Median pay for this role rose 4.6% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, outpacing the 3.1% wage growth of the broader market (BLS ECI).
the broader market is running a 4.4% job-openings rate with quits at 2.0% (BLS JOLTS).
Top earners (P90) make about 2.1 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is in the typical range for U.S. occupations; standard 80% to 120% pay bands around the median work well.
- Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: national job openings little changed at 7.4M (4.4% rate), hires flat at 5.3M, quits steady at 2.0%.
- Jul 31, 2026ECI Q2 2026: national wages rose 3.2% over the year while CPI reached 3.5%, the first negative real-wage reading since 2022. Benefit costs accelerated to 3.8%.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS June 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
The national median salary for Public Safety Telecommunicators is $53,040 per year ($25.50/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $45,219 and $64,272 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $79,830 per year. There are approximately 102,500 public safety telecommunicators employed in the United States.
About This Role
Operate telephone, radio, or other communication systems to receive and communicate requests for emergency assistance at 9-1-1 public safety answering points and emergency operations centers. Take information from the public and other sources regarding crimes, threats, disturbances, acts of terrorism, fires, medical emergencies, and other public safety matters. May coordinate and provide information to law enforcement and emergency response personnel. May access sensitive databases and other information sources as needed. May provide additional instructions to callers based on knowledge of and certification in law enforcement, fire, or emergency medical procedures.
Career Outlook
About This Data
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
About CompSignal
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.
Free BLS wage benchmarks, JOLTS talent signals, and AI analyst briefs