Telephone Operators Salary: $58,646 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 3,950 telephone operators nationally earn a mean of $58,646. Employment in the series shown fell about 57% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 12.3% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Telephone Operators: what the data shows
Common questions about telephone operators careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a telephone operators?
Telephone Operators is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 43-2021.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 3,950 workers.
What does a telephone operators do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Working with Computers, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others, Getting Information, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a telephone operators make?
BLS national median annual wage: $39,130 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $58,646 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $42,384 |
| 25th percentile | $49,402 |
| Median (50th) | $57,993 |
| 75th percentile | $67,554 |
| 90th percentile | $74,204 |
What education do you need?
For Telephone Operators, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Speaking, Active Listening, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Telecommunications, Communications and Media. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is telephone operators in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 12.3% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -48.0%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -73.0%.
Current U.S. headcount: 3,950.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do telephone operatorss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 3,950 | 20.3% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 3,600 | 18.5% |
| Hospitals | 2,270 | 11.7% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 2,170 | 11.1% |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 2,130 | 10.9% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | 790 | 4.0% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Telephone Operators in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Telephone Operators workforce.
Employment Over Time
3,950 Workforce in 2023
The Telephone Operators workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Telephone Operators.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$58,646 Average Wage
In 2023, Telephone Operators earned an average of $58,646.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Telephone Operators.
Salary distribution for Telephone Operators.
Employment Growth Projections
-12.3% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
301 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -48.0%
156 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -73.0%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Telephone Operators.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Telephone Operators and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Telephone Operators employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Telephone Operators.
Wage Trends by Industry
3.6% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: -2.3% growth (Current: $62,415)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Telephone Operators.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Telephone Operators.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- TX: 640 employees, $40,830 avg wage
- PA: 400 employees, $38,260 avg wage
- NY: 350 employees, $57,670 avg wage
- NJ: 230 employees, $44,480 avg wage
- CA: 190 employees, $57,410 avg wage
- OH: 190 employees, $38,170 avg wage
- GA: 140 employees, $38,450 avg wage
- MD: 110 employees, $43,720 avg wage
- KY: 100 employees, $36,780 avg wage
- LA: 80 employees, $32,040 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Telephone Operators.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 380 employees, $52,950 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 160 employees, $41,450 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 90 employees, $46,300 avg wage
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD: 70 employees, $44,310 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 70 employees, $53,490 avg wage
- Memphis, TN-MS-AR: 70 employees, N/A avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 50 employees, $43,500 avg wage
- Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN: 50 employees, $38,580 avg wage
- Cleveland, OH: 50 employees, $39,830 avg wage
- Pittsburgh, PA: 50 employees, $37,320 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Telephone Operators.
Diversity
Demographic information on Telephone Operators in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Telephone Operators in 2023 was 3,950 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Telephone Operators.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Telephone Operators.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Telephone Operators.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Telephone Operators in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Telephone Operators.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Telephone Operators workers.
Education level distribution for Telephone Operators.
Skills
Telephone Operators need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Active Listening, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Critical Thinking.
Required skills for Telephone Operators.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Telephone Operators.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Telephone Operators include Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Telecommunications, Communications and Media, Administrative.
Knowledge areas required for Telephone Operators.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Telephone Operators include Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Speech Clarity, Speech Recognition, Written Comprehension.
Required abilities for Telephone Operators.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Telephone Operators.
Daily Activities
Telephone Operators spend their time on activities such as Working with Computers, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others, Getting Information, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships.
Most important work activities for Telephone Operators.
About
Telephone Operators
The average yearly wage for Telephone Operators was $58,646 in 2023.
SOC Code
43-2021 - Telephone Operators
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Telephone Operators reports an average salary of $58,646.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 3,950 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -12.3%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.