What does it cost to hire a dispatcher in St. Petersburg?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $45,090 median wage in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $9,018 to $13,527 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for a dispatcher in St. Petersburg look like?

Employers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area pay dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance a median of $45,090, with the middle half of the market between $39,110 and $59,010 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $39,110 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Hiring a dispatcher in St. Petersburg, FL

Employers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area pay dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance a median of $45,090 a year, with the middle half of the market between $39,110 and $59,010 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-5032). Filling it through recruitlocalpros runs Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role rather than by salary or location, and our vetted recruiting partner handles sourcing, screening and placement end to end.

Do St. Petersburg residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area pay?

St. Petersburg residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $38,922 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $46,030 as the median of the 47 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 15%, with the employers figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole office and administrative support group, not this one role. In the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area the group covers 47 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from office and administrative support workers, all other at $33,960 to executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants at $64,710 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance at $45,090 inside it.

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 47 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

Published wages across this group in the metro run above what St. Petersburg residents in it earn, which usually means employers here draw this talent from beyond the city line rather than from inside it.

What does a dispatcher earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance by employers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-5032.
25th percentile	$39,110
Median	$45,090
75th percentile	$59,010

Half of dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance in this area earn between $39,110 and $59,010 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $39,110 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 43-5032 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What St. Petersburg residents earn

$38,922

Median annual earnings of St. Petersburg residents working in office and administrative support occupations, 14,064 people (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011). An occupation group rather than this one role, and where people live rather than where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Schedule or dispatch workers, work crews, equipment, or service vehicles to appropriate locations, according to customer requests, specifications, or needs, using radios or telephones.
Prepare daily work and run schedules.
Confer with customers or supervising personnel to address questions, problems, or requests for service or equipment.
Relay work orders, messages, or information to or from work crews, supervisors, or field inspectors, using telephones or two-way radios.
Receive or prepare work orders.

Task statements for SOC 43-5032, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Kronos Workforce Timekeeper, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft PowerPoint.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 43-5032 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in St. Petersburg?

This is a job zone two: some preparation needed occupation. These occupations usually require a high school diploma. O*NET OnLine, SOC 43-5032.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 41.3% of St. Petersburg adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of St. Petersburg aged 25 and over.

The average St. Petersburg commute runs 25.4 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 18.3% of St. Petersburg workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for St. Petersburg.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Pinellas County, administrative and support services employs 31,861 and turns over 14.6% a quarter, with 11,464 hires against 11,069 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $4,229 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 56.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a high-churn market, where speed matters more than a perfect fit.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $45,090 median in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $9,018 to $13,527 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring a dispatcher in St. Petersburg

What does it cost to hire a dispatcher in St. Petersburg?: Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $45,090 median wage in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $9,018 to $13,527 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for a dispatcher in St. Petersburg look like?: Employers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area pay dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance a median of $45,090, with the middle half of the market between $39,110 and $59,010 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $39,110 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do St. Petersburg residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area pay?: St. Petersburg residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $38,922 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $46,030 as the median of the 47 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 15%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.
Is the talent for this role already in St. Petersburg?: This is a job zone 2 occupation and does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 41.3% of St. Petersburg adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501).

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a dispatcher somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other office and administrative support roles in St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is the 6th largest of 9 Florida cities in this dataset.