Paramedics
Median $60,600
Occupation · SOC 29-2042
Emergency Medical Technicians: pay and where the jobs are
What emergency medical technicians earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$44,470 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $46,830
- Median hourly wage
- $21.38
- Mean hourly wage
- $22.52
- Employment
- 180,510
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 29-2042.
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How much do emergency medical technicians make?
The median annual wage for emergency medical technicians was $44,470 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $34,130 and the highest-paid 10% more than $62,500. As an hourly rate, the median is $21.38. About 180,510 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Hawaii ($66,410), Alaska ($57,440) and New Jersey ($53,610). Hawaii also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for emergency medical technicians looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $34,130 | $16.41 | $2,844 | $2,467 |
| 25th percentile | $37,960 | $18.25 | $3,163 | $2,723 |
| Median | $44,470 | $21.38 | $3,706 | $3,159 |
| 75th percentile | $50,100 | $24.09 | $4,175 | $3,536 |
| 90th percentile | $62,500 | $30.05 | $5,208 | $4,367 |
Emergency Medical Technicians: pay by state
53 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$47,262 take-home in national prices
2
$46,954 take-home in national prices
3
$43,155 take-home in national prices
Where a median emergency medical technician paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 560 | $66,410 | $51,140 | $84,620 | $51,965 | $47,262 |
| Alaska | 310 | $57,440 | $44,400 | $81,150 | $48,062 | $46,954 |
| New Jersey | 6,120 | $53,610 | $45,550 | $64,740 | $43,426 | $39,912 |
| Washington | 2,940 | $52,690 | $37,290 | $60,960 | $43,786 | $40,916 |
| Rhode Island | 430 | $51,290 | $39,360 | $61,160 | $41,521 | $40,595 |
| Connecticut | 2,190 | $50,640 | $40,160 | $59,610 | $40,581 | $39,167 |
| Massachusetts | 4,550 | $50,230 | $40,140 | $69,830 | $40,017 | $37,839 |
| Oregon | 1,970 | $49,270 | $37,600 | $63,430 | $38,325 | $37,079 |
| New York | 14,840 | $48,400 | $39,890 | $69,210 | $38,813 | $35,964 |
| Maryland | 3,400 | $48,100 | $39,960 | $85,290 | $38,910 | $37,071 |
| Minnesota | 3,160 | $48,090 | $31,340 | $59,220 | $38,854 | $39,398 |
| Wyoming | 400 | $47,070 | $30,480 | $53,930 | $40,001 | $43,155 |
| Virgin Islands | 40 | $47,040 | $36,770 | $53,480 | — | — |
| Delaware | 950 | $46,790 | $39,060 | $57,660 | $37,669 | $37,741 |
| New Hampshire | 1,010 | $46,790 | $37,320 | $59,670 | $39,776 | $38,185 |
| District of Columbia | 370 | $46,650 | $39,310 | $73,670 | $38,030 | $34,604 |
| California | 21,880 | $46,380 | $38,740 | $78,150 | $38,006 | $34,326 |
| Maine | 1,110 | $46,340 | $38,210 | $58,100 | $37,713 | $38,859 |
| Colorado | 3,060 | $45,750 | $38,370 | $58,320 | $37,434 | $36,326 |
| Vermont | 790 | $45,600 | $36,770 | $57,700 | $37,726 | $38,512 |
| Georgia | 6,260 | $45,550 | $33,910 | $52,600 | $37,255 | $38,689 |
| Virginia | 4,490 | $45,420 | $36,540 | $59,180 | $36,877 | $36,475 |
| North Carolina | 6,680 | $44,250 | $35,190 | $59,750 | $36,478 | $38,672 |
| Pennsylvania | 10,160 | $43,310 | $34,480 | $54,370 | $35,620 | $36,506 |
| Wisconsin | 3,930 | $43,060 | $33,550 | $60,910 | $35,544 | $37,775 |
| Indiana | 4,160 | $42,740 | $36,170 | $50,640 | $35,290 | $37,813 |
| Illinois | 7,840 | $42,260 | $36,420 | $135,490 | $34,189 | $34,203 |
| Missouri | 2,800 | $42,160 | $34,390 | $58,090 | $35,011 | $38,552 |
| Nebraska | 540 | $41,710 | $35,060 | $68,670 | $34,676 | $38,485 |
| Iowa | 1,510 | $40,660 | $35,600 | $60,080 | $33,957 | $38,692 |
| South Carolina | 4,010 | $40,370 | $31,590 | $49,210 | $34,110 | $36,385 |
| Tennessee | 3,860 | $40,330 | $29,720 | $59,370 | $34,585 | $37,646 |
| Ohio | 5,560 | $40,220 | $34,940 | $53,960 | $33,834 | $36,470 |
| Florida | 6,060 | $39,870 | $34,120 | $59,000 | $34,216 | $33,086 |
| Michigan | 4,230 | $39,870 | $35,360 | $49,620 | $32,772 | $34,060 |
| North Dakota | 760 | $39,670 | $31,890 | $54,100 | $34,055 | $38,282 |
| Arizona | 3,970 | $39,500 | $33,860 | $50,790 | $33,325 | $33,100 |
| Utah | 1,280 | $38,930 | $31,410 | $48,240 | $32,425 | $32,797 |
| Idaho | 780 | $38,840 | $27,180 | $51,140 | $32,438 | $33,968 |
| Alabama | 2,020 | $37,810 | $28,620 | $51,160 | $31,028 | $34,932 |
| Nevada | 1,530 | $37,560 | $29,060 | $59,000 | $32,359 | $32,366 |
| New Mexico | 1,260 | $37,550 | $32,370 | $55,500 | $31,704 | $34,382 |
| Texas | 12,770 | $37,260 | $30,320 | $52,160 | $32,118 | $33,092 |
| Kentucky | 2,770 | $36,800 | $29,800 | $49,950 | $30,578 | $33,916 |
| South Dakota | 600 | $36,800 | $31,130 | $48,460 | $31,749 | $35,840 |
| Mississippi | 1,390 | $36,630 | $26,760 | $48,290 | $30,879 | $35,512 |
| Arkansas | 1,120 | $36,230 | $28,370 | $49,910 | $30,438 | $35,011 |
| Montana | 860 | $36,140 | $27,280 | $46,310 | $30,277 | $31,990 |
| Louisiana | 2,450 | $35,870 | $27,390 | $46,460 | $30,312 | $34,364 |
| Kansas | 1,510 | $35,780 | $28,560 | $53,710 | $29,732 | $33,011 |
| West Virginia | 900 | $34,360 | $29,120 | $45,350 | $28,923 | $32,317 |
| Oklahoma | 2,410 | $34,170 | $27,840 | $45,630 | $28,643 | $32,608 |
| Puerto Rico | 650 | $27,610 | $21,840 | $40,290 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 29-2042. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.