Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service in the Columbia Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service pay in Columbia, MO at a median of $34,060 per year ($16.38/hr), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared with the national median of $38,630, the metro estimate is 12% below. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 40 switchboard operators, including answering service are employed across the Columbia MSA in SOC 43-2011.

The Columbia pay distribution spans from $33,440 at the 10th percentile to $44,240 at the 90th, a 1.3× observed spread. Differences in specialization, employer, sector, location, credentials, schedule, and experience may all contribute, but OEWS does not isolate their effects. The 25th percentile sits at $33,440 and the 75th at $38,590, so half of Columbia-based switchboard operators, including answering service earn within that middle band.

Metro figures use establishment work location, not worker residence. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so Columbia, MO covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. OEWS includes straight-time pay, tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. It excludes employer health and retirement benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, signing bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses. The same occupation's national profile, statewide MO estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.