NueCareer

Pay by state · 52 states

Lifeguard, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Worker Salary by State (2026)

Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers earn the most in District of Columbia at $60,400 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $21,840 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $33,580. All 52 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$60,400District of Columbia
National median
$33,580BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$21,840Puerto Rico
States reporting
52of 54 OEWS areas

All states

Lifeguard, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Worker salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1DCDistrict of Columbia
$60,400
$53,240$70,100290$54,959
2HIHawaii
$52,630
$45,260$64,740720$47,867
3CACalifornia
$42,720
$37,320$44,96022,620$38,584
4WAWashington
$37,770
$35,310$44,5504,720$35,295
5MTMontana
$37,750
$30,100$44,610270$39,886
6MAMassachusetts
$36,650
$34,510$41,6002,640$34,655
7NYNew York
$36,590
$34,110$39,9008,740$33,904
8VTVermont
$36,030
$33,390$42,140310$36,781
9CTConnecticut
$35,960
$34,010$38,1501,510$34,707
10RIRhode Island
$35,770
$34,070$37,440370$34,973
11COColorado
$35,640
$33,710$38,0605,430$34,584
12AZArizona
$35,380
$31,030$36,7203,950$35,142
13FLFlorida
$35,040
$30,510$37,7909,460$33,883
14OROregon
$35,030
$32,810$37,6101,860$33,891
15NJNew Jersey
$34,760
$32,620$37,8005,460$31,947
16AKAlaska
$34,540
$28,150$38,870340$33,744
17MDMaryland
$34,520
$31,540$35,8804,160$32,889
18MEMaine
$34,320
$32,130$38,330340$35,363
19ILIllinois
$33,710
$31,200$35,2505,880$33,724
20NHNew Hampshire
$32,100
$29,880$37,040280$30,816
21DEDelaware
$31,930
$31,200$33,280360$31,991
22MNMinnesota
$31,870
$28,990$35,3602,130$32,316
23SDSouth Dakota
$30,990
$28,230$34,010490$34,983
24GAGeorgia
$30,880
$26,000$34,9902,840$32,069
25NVNevada
$30,830
$28,850$33,7802,630$30,836
26VAVirginia
$30,070
$28,320$34,3408,920$29,742
27MIMichigan
$29,760
$27,350$35,3603,770$30,930
28PAPennsylvania
$29,480
$26,920$33,2805,450$30,214
29TXTexas
$29,450
$26,420$33,18011,320$30,343
30MOMissouri
$29,260
$28,600$31,0903,100$32,219
31NENebraska
$29,100
$28,080$31,4601,250$32,296
32WYWyoming
$29,030
$25,590$32,890500$31,319
33IDIdaho
$28,770
$25,460$29,630750$30,128
34UTUtah
$28,720
$25,280$36,0802,550$29,050
35INIndiana
$28,640
$26,820$30,7303,290$30,687
36NMNew Mexico
$28,590
$28,240$32,360760$31,005
37WIWisconsin
$28,570
$26,250$33,6103,350$30,363
38KYKentucky
$28,520
$22,190$30,6201,820$31,633
39NDNorth Dakota
$28,430
$25,080$29,830580$31,959
40TNTennessee
$28,200
$26,240$31,2002,330$30,696
41ALAlabama
$28,130
$23,010$31,0201,080$31,670
42OHOhio
$27,770
$24,340$31,9306,450$29,933
43NCNorth Carolina
$27,310
$25,140$32,3804,850$28,953
44KSKansas
$27,220
$23,640$30,6701,750$30,222
45ARArkansas
$27,000
$24,480$29,700530$31,057
46SCSouth Carolina
$26,210
$21,360$33,1701,900$27,958
47IAIowa
$25,460
$22,200$28,8901,410$29,010
48OKOklahoma
$25,250
$23,070$27,040650$28,744
49WVWest Virginia
$24,670
$21,760$28,270450$27,565
50MSMississippi
$24,440
$22,460$27,610330$28,107
51LALouisiana
$22,240
$21,040$27,340660$25,213
52PRPuerto Rico
$21,840
$21,840$23,710140N/A

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers, that changes the ranking: District of Columbia leads on raw pay at $60,400, while District of Columbia leads once prices are taken into account at $54,959.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Lifeguard, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Worker pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers the most?

District of Columbia reports the highest median wage for Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers at $60,400 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Hawaii ($52,630) and California ($42,720).

Which state pays Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers the least?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers at $21,840 a year, $38,560 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts District of Columbia first at $54,959 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $60,400. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

Back to the full Lifeguard, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Worker career profilefor outlook, skills and how to become one