According to the Kentucky Center for Statistics, the state is right in line with national growth numbers with a predicted 8.3 percent increase expected between 2016 and 2026. That amounts to around 160 new openings a year, including both new positions and turnover at existing jobs.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the median income for those positions at $35,120 a year as of 2018, or the equivalent of $16.89 per hour. The top ten percent of the profession make $49,310, or $23.71/hr.
Salaries at the Agencies Employing 911 Dispatchers in Kentucky
Kentucky’s 911 Service Board oversees all certified PSAPs in the state, helping bring about much-needed changes in local agency organization and technical capabilities to deal with the challenges of increasing wireless emergency call activity around the state.
Louisville/Jefferson County – Includes:
- Louisville Metrosafe Consolidated Communications
- Hardin County 9-1-1
- Elizabethtown Police Department
- 10th percentile: $12.57/hr / $26,150
- Median: $16.89/hr / $35,130
- 90th percentile: $25.00/hr / $52,000
Since 2004, all Louisville and Jefferson County emergency services have been consolidated into the state-of-the-art, computer-assisted dispatch communication center known as Metrosafe.
Lexington-Fayette – Includes:
- Lexington Enhanced 9-1-1
- Winchester Police Department
- University Of Kentucky Police Department
- 10th percentile: $13.95/hr / $29,010
- Median: $19.24/hr / $40,230
- 90th percentile: $25.06/hr / $52,130
The new Lexington Public Safety Operations Center opened in 2016, arming police and fire dispatchers within the combined city/county with the latest in E911 technology.
East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area – Includes:
- Harlan Police Department
- Pike County Sheriff’s Department
- Hazard Police Department
- Perry County 9-1-1
- Kentucky State Police Posts (various)
- 10th percentile: $10.98/hr / $22,830
- Median: $17.53/hr / $36,460
- 90th percentile: $23.82/hr / $49,550
Rural eastern Kentucky’s Cumberland Plateau is a sparsely populated, rugged area with a patchwork of local county and city dispatch services. The Kentucky State Police pick up the slack with local posts of East Troop in the area, fielding calls for both law enforcement and any other emergency that comes their way.
A Full Breakdown of 911 Dispatcher Salaries Across Kentucky
Lexington is the only area in the state that breaks the $40,000 mark for median wage, coming closest to the national median. But both Lexington and Louisville offer in the neighborhood of $52,000 ($25.00/hr) annually to the top ten percent of their dispatchers.
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_kt.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 Kentucky Center for Statistics 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.