Hiring a switchboard operator in Austin, TX

Employers in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX area pay switchboard operators, including answering service a median of $36,550, with the middle half of the market between $31,260 and $48,840. Austin residents working in office and administrative support occupations report a median of $43,197, which is 18% above what the metro pays for this role.

What does a switchboard operator earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile	$31,260
Median	$36,550
75th percentile	$48,840

Half of switchboard operators, including answering service in this area earn between $31,260 and $48,840. A band set below $31,260 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Austin residents earn

$43,197

Median earnings of Austin residents working in office and administrative support occupations, 48,902 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 18% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

Residents here already earn more than this role pays, so your offer is competing with whatever they currently commute to.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address.
Answer incoming calls, greeting callers, providing information, transferring calls or taking messages as necessary.
Greet visitors, log them in and out of the facility, assign them security badges, and contact employee escorts.
Monitor emergency and code alarms, make emergency announcements, or route emergency calls to the appropriate location.
Record messages, suggesting rewording for clarity or conciseness.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 43-2011.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Access, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word, SAP software.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Austin?

This is a job zone two: some preparation needed occupation. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 58.2% of Austin adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Austin commute runs 24 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 27.5% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Bastrop County, administrative and support services employs 539 and turns over 9.9% a quarter, with 158 hires against 97 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $5,286 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 switchboard operators, including answering service. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a normal churn rate, where a well-run search closes on schedule.

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 median would bill roughly $7,310 to $10,965 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.

Price this search

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

Hiring a switchboard operator somewhere else?

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

Other office and administrative support roles in Austin

Austin is the 5th largest of 17 Texas cities in this dataset.