What a dispatcher costs in 65 US cities
US median pay is $50,340 a year, about $71,900 all in with benefits and payroll taxes. Here’s the cost in every large metro area.
A dispatcher costs a median of $50,340 a year in the US, or about $71,900 a year ($5,990 a month) once benefits and employer payroll taxes are added. Pay ranges from $60,780 in San Jose, CA to $43,420 in El Paso, TX. Filling the seat takes a median of 39 days.
Dispatcher cost by metro area
| Metro area | Median pay (a year) | All-in estimate (a year) | All-in (a month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $50,340 | $71,900 | $5,990 |
| San Jose, CA | $60,780 | $86,800 | $7,240 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $59,560 | $85,100 | $7,090 |
| Seattle, WA | $59,340 | $84,800 | $7,060 |
| Chicago, IL | $58,900 | $84,100 | $7,010 |
| Portland, OR | $58,670 | $83,800 | $6,980 |
| San Francisco, CA | $58,610 | $83,700 | $6,980 |
| New York, NY | $58,180 | $83,100 | $6,930 |
| Washington, DC | $57,160 | $81,700 | $6,800 |
| Boston, MA | $56,560 | $80,800 | $6,730 |
| Denver, CO | $55,610 | $79,400 | $6,620 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $54,950 | $78,500 | $6,540 |
| Memphis, TN | $53,080 | $75,800 | $6,320 |
| Omaha, NE | $52,800 | $75,400 | $6,290 |
| Boise, ID | $52,580 | $75,100 | $6,260 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $52,170 | $74,500 | $6,210 |
| Riverside, CA | $52,000 | $74,300 | $6,190 |
| Louisville, KY | $51,950 | $74,200 | $6,180 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $51,900 | $74,100 | $6,180 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $51,860 | $74,100 | $6,170 |
| San Diego, CA | $51,670 | $73,800 | $6,150 |
| Columbus, OH | $51,640 | $73,800 | $6,150 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $51,170 | $73,100 | $6,090 |
| Baltimore, MD | $50,820 | $72,600 | $6,050 |
| Bakersfield, CA | $50,750 | $72,500 | $6,040 |
| Honolulu, HI | $50,640 | $72,300 | $6,030 |
| Detroit, MI | $50,600 | $72,300 | $6,020 |
| Sacramento, CA | $50,550 | $72,200 | $6,020 |
| Charlotte, NC | $50,520 | $72,200 | $6,010 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $50,060 | $71,500 | $5,960 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $49,910 | $71,300 | $5,940 |
| Providence, RI | $49,880 | $71,300 | $5,940 |
| Richmond, VA | $49,830 | $71,200 | $5,930 |
| Nashville, TN | $49,680 | $71,000 | $5,910 |
| Albany, NY | $49,670 | $71,000 | $5,910 |
| St. Louis, MO | $49,650 | $70,900 | $5,910 |
| Fresno, CA | $49,580 | $70,800 | $5,900 |
| Austin, TX | $49,570 | $70,800 | $5,900 |
| Allentown, PA | $49,570 | $70,800 | $5,900 |
| Grand Rapids, MI | $49,400 | $70,600 | $5,880 |
| Cleveland, OH | $49,340 | $70,500 | $5,870 |
| Knoxville, TN | $49,290 | $70,400 | $5,870 |
| Atlanta, GA | $48,930 | $69,900 | $5,830 |
| Buffalo, NY | $48,880 | $69,800 | $5,820 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $48,630 | $69,500 | $5,790 |
| Houston, TX | $48,550 | $69,400 | $5,780 |
| Raleigh, NC | $48,310 | $69,000 | $5,750 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $48,280 | $69,000 | $5,750 |
| Charleston, SC | $48,200 | $68,900 | $5,740 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | $48,160 | $68,800 | $5,730 |
| Rochester, NY | $48,150 | $68,800 | $5,730 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | $48,030 | $68,600 | $5,720 |
| Kansas City, MO | $47,660 | $68,100 | $5,670 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | $47,630 | $68,000 | $5,670 |
| Columbia, SC | $47,550 | $67,900 | $5,660 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $47,210 | $67,400 | $5,620 |
| Greenville, SC | $47,200 | $67,400 | $5,620 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | $46,930 | $67,000 | $5,590 |
| San Antonio, TX | $46,800 | $66,900 | $5,570 |
| New Orleans, LA | $46,360 | $66,200 | $5,520 |
| Tucson, AZ | $46,000 | $65,700 | $5,480 |
| Miami, FL | $45,980 | $65,700 | $5,470 |
| Orlando, FL | $45,180 | $64,500 | $5,380 |
| Tulsa, OK | $44,130 | $63,000 | $5,250 |
| Albuquerque, NM | $43,710 | $62,400 | $5,200 |
| El Paso, TX | $43,420 | $62,000 | $5,170 |
An experienced hire usually costs more than the median. The all-in estimate leaves out recruiting, training, software seats and cover for sick days and leave.
What a dispatcher does
- Schedule jobs and assign crews or drivers
- Update job status and customer ETAs
- Enter completed jobs, timesheets and paperwork
- Keep the scheduling system and job records current
- Relay changes between office, field and customers
The alternative to hiring
Dull takes on dispatch admin (job entry, schedule updates and completed-job paperwork; live phone and radio dispatch stays with your team) work in the tools you already use. A person reviews every exception, and anything involving money or judgment waits for your approval. It’s a flat monthly fee, quoted on a 15-minute call, month to month with no contract, and usually live in about a week instead of 39 days to hire.
Book a 15-minute call to see whether your dispatch paperwork fits.
How we worked these out
- Median pay is the May 2025 median annual wage for “Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance” from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (BLS OEWS), for each metropolitan area and the US as a whole, pulled from the BLS public data API. Half of workers earn more and half earn less.
- All-in estimate adds benefits and employer payroll taxes: wages are 70.0% of total compensation for private-industry workers (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026), so all-in = median ÷ 0.70. It doesn’t include recruiting, training, equipment or office space.
- Time to fill is the median of 39 days from SHRM’s recruiting benchmarks.
- Figures are rounded. Metro areas are the 65 largest US metropolitan statistical areas with published data for every role on our cost pages.
Frequently asked questions
The US median pay for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance was $50,340 a year in May 2025 (BLS). With benefits and employer payroll taxes the all-in cost is about $71,900 a year, or $5,990 a month, before recruiting and training.
Of the 65 largest US metro areas, San Jose, CA has the highest median pay at $60,780 a year (21% above the US median). El Paso, TX has the lowest at $43,420.
A median of 39 days to fill an opening (SHRM), before training. While the seat is empty the work usually falls to the owner or the strongest person on the team.
Yes. Dull is a done-for-you back-office service that takes on dispatch admin work in the tools you already use, with a person reviewing every exception. It’s a flat monthly fee, quoted on a 15-minute call, month to month with no contract, and usually live in about a week.
Median pay is from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025). The all-in estimate divides it by 0.70, because wages are 70.0% of total compensation for private-industry workers (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026).