The Delaware Office of Occupational and Labor Market Information projects a 4.2 percent increase in 911 operator positions by 2026, resulting in about 20 openings statewide each year.
Pay rates for those position are solidly in line with the national average, with $44,810 as the median ($16.05/hr), and $59,930 ($28.81/hr) in the 90thpercentile.
Salaries at the Agencies Employing 911 Dispatchers in Delaware
As a small state, the Delaware 911 operator community isn’t a large one—fewer than three hundred dispatchers work statewide, at only nine PSAPs, three of them run by the Delaware State Police. Most of the dispatching throughout the state is handled at the county level, with the exception of the University of Delaware police force and several larger city police agencies which typically also handle fire and EMS in their regions.
Dover – Includes:
- Dover Police 911 Center
- Kent County Emergency Operations Center
- 10th percentile: $15.27/hr / $31,760
- Median: $20.88/hr / $43,430
- 90th percentile: $28.94/hr / $60,190
Kent County EOC handles dispatch and call-taking for more than 20 fire and EMS services throughout the county, including for Dover Fire Department, while Dover PD runs its own 911 center.
911 Dispatcher Salaries Across The State of Delaware
Dover is the only tracked region for dispatcher salaries for BLS, which finds that the median pay is slightly less there than that for the state overall.
Salary and employment data compiled by the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics in May of 2018. Figures represent accumulated data for all areas of employment for emergency services dispatchers https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_de.htm#43-5031. BLS salary data represents state and MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) average and median earnings for the occupations listed and includes workers at all levels of education and experience. This data does not represent starting salaries. Employment conditions in your area may vary.
Job growth projections sourced from the Delaware Office of Occupational and Labor Market Information and published in the U.S. Department of Labor-funded Long Term Occupational Projections (2016-2026) database – https://projectionscentral.com/Projections/LongTerm.
All salary and job growth data accessed in June 2019.