How much do Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service make in Salinas, CA?

Percentile spread

For Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service, the published 10th percentile is $38,130 and the 90th percentile is $60,620. The difference is $22,490, which is 46.0% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $45,170 to the 75th at $48,840, covers $3,670.

The mean annual wage is $48,480, which sits below the median of $48,840. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Salinas, CA median is 26.4% higher than the national median of $38,630 for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service. In 2024 national prices the local median is $44,790, which is 15.9% higher than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is about the same as the California median of $48,840.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Salinas, CA is 109.042, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $48,840 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service at $44,790 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

13 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service. Salinas, CA ranks 6th of 14 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is 46 miles away, with a median of $79,260 and employment of 440. That median is 62.3% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $71,779, against $44,790 here.
• Merced, CA is 74 miles away, with a median of $44,190 and employment of 50. That median is 9.5% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $44,966, against $44,790 here.
• Modesto, CA is 93 miles away, with a median of $44,320 and employment of 70. That median is 9.3% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $42,571, against $44,790 here.

Employment share

Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service accounts for 0.05% of wage-and-salary employment in Salinas, CA (90 of 186,430). Nationally the occupation is 0.02% of employment (34,280 of 155,495,730). The local share is 2.19 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.