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Salary data from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, And Other Recreational Protective Service Workers Salary: Louisiana vs Washington

Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, And Other Recreational Protective Service Workers earn a median of $22,110 in Louisiana and $38,510 in Washington. That is a nominal gap of $16,400 (-42.6%), with Washington paying more before any cost-of-living adjustment.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2024 estimates. Cost-of-living adjustment uses BEA Regional Price Parities, most recent release.

$22,110
Louisiana median
$25,066 after COL
$38,510
Washington median
$35,986 after COL
-42.6%
Nominal gap
Washington leads
-30.3%
Adjusted gap
Washington leads after COL

The story behind the numbers

On raw wages, Washington pays $16,400 more per year than Louisiana for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers, a gap of +42.6%.

After adjusting for cost of living, Washington still comes out ahead, with roughly $10,920 of extra purchasing power (+30.3% real gap). Local prices do not reverse the nominal advantage.

Full breakdown by location

Detailed wage, employment, and cost-of-living figures for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in each location. Click through to the full local salary page for percentiles, outlook, and peer areas.

Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, And Other Recreational Protective Service Workers

Louisiana

Median salary
$22,110
Mean salary
$24,600
Employment
640
Location quotient
0.36
Jobs per 1,000
0.3
COL-adjusted median
$25,066
Regional Price Parity
88.2%

Exact state RPP match.

Full Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, And Other Recreational Protective Service Workers page for Louisiana →

Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, And Other Recreational Protective Service Workers

Washington

Median salary
$38,510
Mean salary
$40,530
Employment
3,870
Location quotient
1.17
Jobs per 1,000
1.1
COL-adjusted median
$35,986
Regional Price Parity
107.0%

Exact state RPP match.

Full Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, And Other Recreational Protective Service Workers page for Washington →

Related pages

Keep digging into lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers from a different angle.

Common questions about this comparison

What does the cost-of-living adjustment actually do? +

It divides each location's nominal median wage by its Regional Price Parity (RPP), which measures how local prices compare to the national average (100 = national). A wage of $100,000 in an area with RPP 120 has the same purchasing power as roughly $83,000 nationally.

Why would the nominal and adjusted winners disagree? +

High-cost metros often pay higher salaries, but not by enough to fully offset the higher cost of housing, goods, and services. When that happens, the location with the lower nominal wage actually offers more real purchasing power.

What is a location quotient? +

The location quotient measures how concentrated an occupation is in a given area versus the national average. A value of 2.0 means the occupation is twice as common there as nationally. It is a signal of what a state specializes in.