How Much Are Beach Lifeguards Paid? Agency Pay Scales and Occupational Wages, Employment and Workload of US Lifeguards from Public Pay Schedules, BLS OEWS and USLA Data, 2004–2026

No official statistic isolates the pay of beach lifeguards: the federal occupation (SOC 33-9092) combines pool, beach, lake and waterpark lifeguards with ski patrollers and other recreational protective workers. We therefore combine two layers of public data. Official pay scales and job bulletins of nine ocean-lifeguard agencies show 2026 seasonal starting rates from USD 19.00 an hour (Volusia County, Florida) to USD 30.05 (Los Angeles County), and full-time starting salaries from USD 47,673.60 (St. Lucie County, Florida) to USD 76,049.52 (Los Angeles County Ocean Lifeguard Specialist), with senior ranks reaching USD 220,694.40 a year. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) put the national median of the occupation at USD 16.14 an hour (USD 33,580 full-time equivalent) in May 2025 across 157,550 jobs. Between 2004 and 2025 the median rose 103.0% in current dollars and 19.1% after CPI-U deflation; in real terms it stayed below its 2004 level until 2018, and relative to the all-occupation median it fell from 57.5% to 53.7% (2014) before reaching 65.9%. Medians ranged across states from USD 21,840 (Puerto Rico) to USD 60,400 (District of Columbia), with California at USD 42,720, 1.27 times the national figure, and across metro areas up to USD 64,030 in Kahului-Wailuku, Hawaii. Local governments employed 34.3% of the occupation and state governments paid the highest industry median, USD 44,280. Reporting beach agencies recorded 85,258 rescues over 311,186,726 visits in 2024. All inputs are public.