During the first quarter of 2013, the median statewide 911 operator salary in California was $56,135. Those in the top ten percent earned $77,580, but annual wages were noticeably different between counties. For instance, the highest paying area in California was the San Francisco Bay area where emergency dispatchers earned a median of $78,303.
Salaries by county include:
Name of County
Median Salary
San Benito/Santa Clara
$70230
Public safety dispatchers employed by the City of San Diego are paid on a 5-step plan:
Pay Scale
Dispatcher 1
Dispatcher
San Diego also employs fire dispatchers and police dispatchers, although dispatcher 1 and dispatcher 2 work in all capacities (police, fire, medical, and public works):
Fire Dispatcher
Police Dispatcher
Minimum: $41388
Minimum: $45396
Maximum: $49968
Maximum: $54720
The career outlook for 911 dispatchers in California is much better than national estimates, which are 12% over 10 years. The overall projected growth for the state, according to the California Employment Development Department, is 14.3%. Yet, certain counties in California are seeing a much greater demand: Imperial County (25%), Los Angeles County (17%), San Diego County (15.3%), Santa Barbara County (22.2%), and Sonoma County (18.2%).
Shown in the chart below are emergency dispatch salaries across the state:
Area name
Employment
Hourly mean wage
Annual mean wage
Hourly median wage
Hourly 75th percentile wage
Hourly 90th percentile wage
Annual median wage
Annual 75th percentile wage
Annual 90th percentile wage
Bakersfield-Delano CA
190
22.51
46830
22.71
26.34
28.54
47230
54780
59370
Chico CA
40
23.39
48640
24.22
26.41
27.86
50370
54940
57940
El Centro CA
30
19.38
40310
19.67
21.59
22.74
40920
44910
47310
Fresno CA
200
18.96
39440
18.27
22.24
25.97
38000
46250
54010
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale CA Metropolitan Division
840
24.66
51290
25.38
29.43
33.81
52790
61200
70310
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana CA
1330
26.06
54210
26.94
31.65
34.86
56030
65840
72500
Merced CA
50
24.93
51860
25.15
27.84
29.80
52310
57900
61980
Napa CA
30
25.85
53760
25.35
29.88
34.26
52730
62160
71270
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward CA Metropolitan Division
510
31.10
64700
32.44
35.92
41.35
67480
74710
86000
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura CA
120
26.63
55390
27.14
31.50
34.38
56450
65510
71510
Redding CA
70
22.05
45860
22.14
23.61
25.81
46050
49100
53680
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA
770
22.72
47260
23.72
27.27
30.10
49340
56730
62610
Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville CA
450
26.32
54750
26.27
29.29
34.23
54630
60920
71200
Salinas CA
130
25.56
53170
25.84
29.31
34.23
53740
60960
71200
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos CA
580
24.50
50970
23.23
30.29
34.56
48310
63010
71890
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA
1190
33.36
69390
34.63
39.88
43.38
72030
82950
90240
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City CA Metropolitan Division
680
35.07
72940
37.14
41.40
44.04
77240
86110
91590
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA
340
34.09
70910
33.31
38.71
46.00
69280
80530
95680
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles CA
60
24.43
50810
25.25
26.92
28.26
52530
55990
58780
Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine CA Metropolitan Division
480
28.50
59280
30.08
33.60
35.70
62570
69880
74260
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta CA
60
32.20
66970
31.76
36.56
43.65
66050
76050
90780
Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA
60
30.21
62840
31.37
34.53
36.88
65250
71810
76710
Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA
90
29.01
60340
30.83
33.78
35.54
64130
70260
73930
Stockton CA
70
30.81
64090
31.40
35.10
39.78
65320
73010
82740
Vallejo-Fairfield CA
60
24.05
50020
23.79
32.63
35.56
49490
67870
73970
Visalia-Porterville CA
90
21.03
43740
20.99
23.45
26.49
43670
48770
55090
Yuba City CA
50
21.33
44370
21.12
26.57
29.74
43920
55260
61860
Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area
50
24.32
50580
24.04
26.07
33.00
49990
54220
68640
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area
Estimate Not Released
23.00
47850
22.47
26.24
28.95
46730
54570
60220
North Valley Region of California nonmetropolitan area
40
Estimate Not Released
Estimate Not Released
Estimate Not Released
Estimate Not Released
Estimate Not Released
Estimate Not Released
Estimate Not Released
Estimate Not Released
Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area
90
21.51
44730
19.90
27.71
34.02
41400
57630
70760
Back to Top