Lifeguard Hourly Pay, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 2,796 US job postings by 984 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for lifeguards: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 2,796 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for lifeguards in US job postings is $17.50 an hour (584 postings from 296 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $15.43 to $20.00 an hour.
- The skills that most set lifeguard postings apart are chemical testing, lifeguard skills, cpr.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 1 year of experience.
Lifeguard job postings in the US, October 2026
- $17.50/hr
- Median advertised pay (584 postings)
- $15.43–$20.00
- Middle 50% of postings
- 2,796
- US job postings from 984 employers
- 1 year
- Median experience asked
How much does a lifeguard make an hour?
The median advertised pay is $17.50 an hour, from 584 US job postings by 296 employers that state pay. That is about $36,000 a year at 2,080 hours.
Advertised pay in 584 US lifeguard job postings: median $36,000 a year ($17.50 an hour), middle half $32,000 to $42,000.
- Median: $36,000 ($17.50/hr)
- 25th percentile: $32,000
- 75th percentile: $42,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $10K–$20K | 0.4% |
| $20K–$30K | 15.1% |
| $30K–$40K | 52.8% |
| $40K–$50K | 24.3% |
| $50K–$60K | 5.0% |
| $60K–$70K | 1.2% |
| $70K–$80K | 0.5% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an hourly rate | $17.50 | $15.43–$20.00 | 553 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $36,000 | $32K–$42K | 584 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers (33-9092) at $34,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a lifeguard?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Highest-paying lifeguard jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifeguard (general) | $17.25/hr | 500 | 264 |
Skills employers ask for in lifeguard job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Customer service | 24% |
| Communication | 21% |
| Cpr | 11% |
| Chemical testing | 10% |
| Lifeguard skills | 9% |
| Interpersonal skills | 8% |
| Leadership | 8% |
| Organizational skills | 6% |
| Dependable | 5% |
| First aid | 5% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set lifeguards apart
- Chemical testing561.1× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Lifeguard skills655.2× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Cpr63.4× as often as in all postings · 11%
- First aid58.8× as often as in all postings · 5%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a lifeguard job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a lifeguard do?
Employers post these jobs as Head Lifeguard, Aquatics Director, Lifeguard I, Pool Lifeguard, Pool Manager and other titles. The largest specializations are Pool Manager (11%).
The closest official occupation is Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers (33-9092.00). Its most important tasks:
- Patrol or monitor recreational areas, such as trails, slopes, or swimming areas, on foot, in vehicles, or from towers.
- Rescue distressed persons, using rescue techniques and equipment.
- Contact emergency medical personnel in case of serious injury.
- Examine injured persons and administer first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, if necessary, using training and medical supplies and equipment.
- Warn recreational participants of inclement weather, unsafe areas, or illegal conduct.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a lifeguard?
Among 306 postings that state a minimum, the median is 1 year. 0% say 0 years and 59% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 306 US lifeguard job postings: median 1 year, and 59% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 13% |
| 1 yr | 46% |
| 2 yrs | 28% |
| 3-4 yrs | 9% |
| 5-7 yrs | 2% |
| 8-9 yrs | 0% |
| 10+ yrs | 2% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Part-time 86%, Full-time 14% of the 401 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a lifeguard: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Lifeguard | 689 (70.0%) |
| Head Lifeguard | 49 (5.0%) |
| Aquatics Director | 39 (4.0%) |
| Lifeguard I | 37 (3.8%) |
| Pool Lifeguard | 31 (3.1%) |
| Pool Manager | 28 (2.9%) |
| Aquatics Manager | 27 (2.7%) |
| Aquatics Coordinator | 25 (2.5%) |
| Life Guard | 19 (1.9%) |
| Lifeguard (Part-Time) | 18 (1.8%) |
| Lead Lifeguard | 17 (1.7%) |
| Lifeguard/Swim Instructor | 16 (1.6%) |
| Part-Time Lifeguard | 15 (1.5%) |
| Certified Lifeguard | 13 (1.3%) |
| Daytime Lifeguard | 13 (1.3%) |
| Opening Lifeguard | 13 (1.3%) |
| Aquatics Lifeguard | 13 (1.3%) |
| Aquatics Supervisor | 12 (1.2%) |
| Lifeguards | 11 (1.1%) |
| Aquatics Lead | 10 (1.0%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Lifeguard compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lifeguard | $17.50/hr | 1 year | 2,796 | – |
| Firefighter | – | – | 956 | 12 |
| Police Officer | $71K | 2 years | 2,690 | 14 |
| Correctional Officer | – | 1 year | 1,034 | 12 |
| Sports Coach | $20.00/hr | 2 years | 26,885 | 13 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Firefighter | 12 | – |
| Police Officer | 14 | $71K |
| Correctional Officer | 12 | – |
| Sports Coach | 13 | $20.00/hr |
| Emergency Medical Technician | 13 | $26.00/hr |
| Security Officer | 12 | $20.50/hr |
Applying for lifeguard jobs?
- Lifeguard resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find lifeguard jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a lifeguard make an hour?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 19 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 19 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.