Fire Inspectors and Investigators
Median $75,920
Occupation · SOC 33-2011
Firefighters: pay and where the jobs are
What firefighters earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$59,280 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $63,630
- Median hourly wage
- $28.50
- Mean hourly wage
- $30.59
- Employment
- 345,990
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 33-2011.
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How much do firefighters make?
The median annual wage for firefighters was $59,280 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $34,910 and the highest-paid 10% more than $101,040. As an hourly rate, the median is $28.50. About 345,990 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in New York ($100,960), Washington ($94,520) and California ($85,120). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in Washington.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for firefighters 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 | $34,910 | $16.79 | $2,909 | $2,519 |
| 25th percentile | $44,490 | $21.39 | $3,708 | $3,161 |
| Median | $59,280 | $28.50 | $4,940 | $4,151 |
| 75th percentile | $77,250 | $37.14 | $6,438 | $5,265 |
| 90th percentile | $101,040 | $48.58 | $8,420 | $6,659 |
Firefighters: pay by state
51 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
$69,163 take-home in national prices
2
$69,028 take-home in national prices
3
$60,261 take-home in national prices
Where a median firefighter paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 12,950 | $100,960 | $56,390 | $106,440 | $74,496 | $69,028 |
| Washington | 7,560 | $94,520 | $47,640 | $123,980 | $74,014 | $69,163 |
| California | 31,470 | $85,120 | $52,390 | $136,150 | $63,934 | $57,744 |
| New Jersey | 7,500 | $84,130 | $47,920 | $123,940 | $64,303 | $59,099 |
| Illinois | 18,400 | $78,380 | $38,900 | $106,060 | $60,235 | $60,261 |
| Connecticut | 2,970 | $77,630 | $51,320 | $85,500 | $59,535 | $57,461 |
| District of Columbia | 1,480 | $75,870 | $61,050 | $99,760 | $58,719 | $53,429 |
| Colorado | 6,510 | $74,170 | $47,000 | $114,170 | $58,127 | $56,406 |
| Maryland | 5,340 | $73,810 | $48,030 | $98,770 | $57,615 | $54,893 |
| Pennsylvania | 5,020 | $73,460 | $48,620 | $89,190 | $58,202 | $59,651 |
| Massachusetts | 11,940 | $72,800 | $49,730 | $98,130 | $56,290 | $53,226 |
| Oregon | 3,790 | $70,900 | $38,800 | $104,070 | $53,508 | $51,768 |
| Rhode Island | 1,620 | $67,380 | $56,110 | $76,620 | $53,581 | $52,386 |
| Nevada | 2,640 | $66,570 | $47,600 | $101,450 | $55,662 | $55,674 |
| Indiana | 8,530 | $62,780 | $38,460 | $81,890 | $50,801 | $54,432 |
| Nebraska | 1,070 | $61,040 | $46,660 | $69,460 | $49,328 | $54,746 |
| Texas | 28,170 | $60,180 | $40,020 | $77,170 | $50,535 | $52,067 |
| Ohio | 18,100 | $59,370 | $34,420 | $84,010 | $48,695 | $52,487 |
| Montana | 1,010 | $59,310 | $32,810 | $76,620 | $47,805 | $50,509 |
| Arizona | 7,500 | $59,280 | $36,700 | $88,220 | $48,723 | $48,396 |
| Alaska | 1,040 | $58,830 | $35,520 | $82,360 | $49,179 | $48,046 |
| Virginia | 11,160 | $58,670 | $38,310 | $77,310 | $46,762 | $46,251 |
| Florida | 24,570 | $58,550 | $37,260 | $93,310 | $49,225 | $47,600 |
| Wyoming | 680 | $58,090 | $39,550 | $78,760 | $48,855 | $52,708 |
| New Hampshire | 2,700 | $56,620 | $35,450 | $78,570 | $47,674 | $45,768 |
| Iowa | 2,170 | $55,810 | $32,240 | $87,720 | $45,554 | $51,907 |
| North Dakota | 820 | $55,080 | $39,700 | $77,530 | $46,437 | $52,200 |
| Michigan | 6,610 | $54,640 | $37,190 | $78,550 | $44,012 | $45,742 |
| Oklahoma | 4,150 | $49,710 | $31,620 | $77,560 | $40,431 | $46,026 |
| Tennessee | 7,020 | $49,300 | $33,910 | $70,460 | $41,793 | $45,491 |
| Missouri | 6,580 | $49,080 | $31,140 | $79,360 | $40,246 | $44,316 |
| Utah | 2,870 | $48,310 | $27,660 | $80,320 | $39,422 | $39,875 |
| Maine | 2,480 | $48,290 | $35,740 | $63,740 | $39,157 | $40,347 |
| South Dakota | 610 | $48,160 | $39,240 | $61,420 | $40,877 | $46,143 |
| Alabama | 7,260 | $47,600 | $29,770 | $76,190 | $38,463 | $43,303 |
| Idaho | 2,240 | $47,320 | $30,280 | $81,190 | $38,802 | $40,633 |
| Wisconsin | 8,120 | $46,850 | $29,390 | $77,050 | $38,402 | $40,812 |
| Delaware | 560 | $46,710 | $41,960 | $72,160 | $37,609 | $37,681 |
| Georgia | 12,700 | $46,550 | $33,000 | $61,510 | $38,009 | $39,472 |
| Vermont | Not published | $46,430 | $29,790 | $77,200 | $38,365 | $39,165 |
| Kansas | 3,360 | $45,900 | $32,810 | $76,110 | $37,299 | $41,412 |
| South Carolina | 7,780 | $42,570 | $29,130 | $62,150 | $35,822 | $38,211 |
| New Mexico | 2,420 | $41,590 | $31,200 | $57,780 | $34,776 | $37,714 |
| Arkansas | 2,480 | $39,690 | $28,680 | $60,860 | $33,090 | $38,062 |
| Minnesota | 5,810 | $38,110 | $27,510 | $70,380 | $31,413 | $31,853 |
| North Carolina | 19,410 | $37,940 | $29,360 | $61,940 | $31,660 | $33,564 |
| West Virginia | 900 | $37,350 | $29,020 | $51,390 | $31,231 | $34,896 |
| Kentucky | 5,150 | $37,150 | $27,870 | $60,720 | $30,847 | $34,214 |
| Puerto Rico | 1,780 | $37,120 | $32,000 | $44,130 | — | — |
| Mississippi | 2,920 | $35,880 | $26,850 | $51,310 | $30,306 | $34,854 |
| Louisiana | 5,230 | $33,120 | $22,510 | $56,670 | $28,185 | $31,953 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 33-2011. *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.