Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
43-2011 Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
Operate telephone business systems equipment or switchboards to relay incoming, outgoing, and interoffice calls. May supply information to callers and record messages.
National estimates for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
Industry profile for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
Geographic profile for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
National estimates for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 48,190 |
1.8 % |
$ 16.63 |
$ 34,590 |
0.5 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 11.11 |
$ 13.81 |
$ 14.50 |
$ 17.98 |
$ 22.76 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 23,120 |
$ 28,720 |
$ 30,150 |
$ 37,410 |
$ 47,330 |
Industry profile for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
12,300 |
0.22 |
$ 17.23 |
$ 35,840 |
| Business Support Services |
10,760 |
1.30 |
$ 14.27 |
$ 29,670 |
| Offices of Physicians |
4,040 |
0.15 |
$ 15.66 |
$ 32,580 |
| Traveler Accommodation |
1,800 |
0.13 |
$ 18.80 |
$ 39,110 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
1,640 |
0.06 |
$ 16.66 |
$ 34,650 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
Top paying industries for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
Geographic profile for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
7,640 |
0.46 |
1.35 |
$ 21.58 |
$ 44,880 |
| Texas |
4,030 |
0.33 |
0.96 |
$ 14.05 |
$ 29,210 |
| New York |
3,520 |
0.41 |
1.19 |
$ 18.35 |
$ 38,170 |
| Florida |
2,780 |
0.32 |
0.95 |
$ 14.70 |
$ 30,580 |
| Pennsylvania |
2,110 |
0.38 |
1.11 |
$ 15.96 |
$ 33,200 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Louisiana |
1,300 |
0.72 |
2.12 |
$ 13.28 |
$ 27,620 |
| Nevada |
880 |
0.68 |
2.00 |
$ 15.52 |
$ 32,280 |
| Alabama |
1,120 |
0.58 |
1.69 |
$ 12.95 |
$ 26,940 |
| Hawaii |
310 |
0.56 |
1.65 |
$ 20.98 |
$ 43,640 |
| Delaware |
240 |
0.56 |
1.62 |
$ 15.37 |
$ 31,960 |
Top paying states for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
3,640 |
0.42 |
1.23 |
$ 18.57 |
$ 38,630 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
2,620 |
0.46 |
1.34 |
$ 19.86 |
$ 41,310 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
1,350 |
0.32 |
0.93 |
$ 16.91 |
$ 35,160 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
1,030 |
0.42 |
1.23 |
$ 15.05 |
$ 31,300 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
1,020 |
0.38 |
1.12 |
$ 17.53 |
$ 36,450 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
970 |
0.27 |
0.79 |
$ 15.17 |
$ 31,550 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
870 |
0.34 |
0.98 |
$ 15.32 |
$ 31,870 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
860 |
0.30 |
0.86 |
$ 14.95 |
$ 31,100 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
810 |
0.36 |
1.06 |
$ 24.64 |
$ 51,250 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV |
780 |
0.85 |
2.48 |
$ 15.67 |
$ 32,580 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Mobile, AL |
210 |
1.27 |
3.72 |
$ 13.26 |
$ 27,590 |
| Chico, CA |
90 |
1.16 |
3.39 |
$ 15.99 |
$ 33,250 |
| Carbondale-Marion, IL |
60 |
1.15 |
3.35 |
$ 16.03 |
$ 33,330 |
| Lafayette, LA |
210 |
1.12 |
3.26 |
$ 13.48 |
$ 28,030 |
| Shreveport-Bossier City, LA |
180 |
1.10 |
3.21 |
$ 12.67 |
$ 26,360 |
| Dothan, AL |
60 |
1.09 |
3.19 |
$ 12.61 |
$ 26,220 |
| Michigan City-La Porte, IN |
40 |
1.07 |
3.12 |
$ 13.23 |
$ 27,510 |
| Alexandria, LA |
60 |
1.05 |
3.08 |
$ 12.42 |
$ 25,840 |
| Johnson City, TN |
70 |
0.96 |
2.81 |
$ 13.62 |
$ 28,330 |
| Janesville-Beloit, WI |
60 |
0.95 |
2.79 |
$ 18.14 |
$ 37,730 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI |
40 |
0.55 |
1.61 |
$ 24.81 |
$ 51,610 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
810 |
0.36 |
1.06 |
$ 24.64 |
$ 51,250 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
260 |
0.24 |
0.71 |
$ 22.81 |
$ 47,440 |
| Modesto, CA |
50 |
0.30 |
0.89 |
$ 22.59 |
$ 46,990 |
| Barnstable Town, MA |
30 |
0.33 |
0.97 |
$ 22.37 |
$ 46,540 |
| Iowa City, IA |
30 |
0.35 |
1.02 |
$ 22.25 |
$ 46,270 |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA |
180 |
0.71 |
2.08 |
$ 21.18 |
$ 44,060 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
430 |
0.22 |
0.66 |
$ 20.67 |
$ 42,990 |
| Salinas, CA |
80 |
0.49 |
1.45 |
$ 20.17 |
$ 41,950 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI |
230 |
0.59 |
1.72 |
$ 20.06 |
$ 41,720 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
