Here's how much firefighters make in every US state
· Business Insider
Yuki Iwamura/AP
- Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the salaries of firefighters across the US.
- The highest median wages were in Washington and New York, while the lowest were in Louisiana.
- The highest reported 90th percentile wage was $143,830 in California.
Every day, firefighters in communities across the US risk their lives responding to emergencies. And in the age of worsening wildfires driven by the climate crisis, their jobs have become more important than ever.
Visit forestarrow.rest for more information.
So how does pay correlate to such a key job? As we'll see below, firefighter wages fluctuate dramatically across the 50 states, with some states recording six-figure earnings for the highest earners, while others in the 10th percentile of earners barely scratch the $25,000 mark.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics provides data on firefighter wages. Using the most recent data from May 2024, Business Insider identified the median annual salaries of firefighters in every US state.
We also identified the overall salary range of firefighters in each state, ranging from the low-end 10th percentile to the high-end 90th percentile of salaries.
Chris Lake, the director of collective bargaining for the International Association of Firefighters, told Business Insider that many factors contribute to pay differences from state to state. For starters, every state has differences in cost of living, housing prices, taxes, and other factors, so salaries will often reflect these characteristics.
And beyond the economic conditions a fire department operates in, budgets and pay can vary massively on a local level.
"There's an old saying: If you've seen one fire department, well, you've only seen one fire department," Lake said. Differences in the type of department — local, county/regional, state, or federal — paired with balancing a budget for other agencies and services adds to the complexity, he said. The pay a career firefighter receives usually comes from tax dollars at the department's respective level of government.
"There's no uniform method anywhere that says, 'This is how you're going to fund emergency services,'" Lake said.
He also noted that a department's location and the makeup of the response area play a role. While some fire departments train for responding to fires in dense cities with skyscrapers, others are preparing for wildfires and water rescue. These differences in response, training, and equipment could affect budgeting and pay.
Another crucial detail: Nearly 70% of firefighters in the US are volunteers, according to FEMA, and many states heavily rely on their services. Though these firefighters may receive benefits, such as tax credits and certifications, they respond to emergencies for no regular paycheck.
All in all, a host of variables determine the final amount on a firefighter's pay stub. Here's what that pay might look like for firefighters across the US.
Hawaii was not included in the BLS data.
AlabamaA firetruck at a children's library event in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.Luisa P Oswalt/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $47,490
Annual 10th percentile salary: $30,880
Annual 90th percentile salary: $73,360
AlaskaFirefighters using a hose in Fairbanks, Alaska.Robert J Lype/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $63,220
Annual 10th percentile salary: $31,600
Annual 90th percentile salary: $87,940
ArizonaA firefighter carrying a hose after putting out a car fire during a heatwave in Phoenix, Arizona.Patrick T. Fallon/AFP
Median annual salary: $58,650
Annual 10th percentile salary: $36,650
Annual 90th percentile salary: $79,780
ArkansasFirefighters demonstrate a "jaws of life" rescue in Conway, Arkansas.TAH Media/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $42,100
Annual 10th percentile salary: $28,600
Annual 90th percentile salary: $63,930
CaliforniaWildland firefighters walk along a trail during training in Sunland, California.Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $83,400
Annual 10th percentile salary: $51,580
Annual 90th percentile salary: $143,830
ColoradoFirefighters extinguishing hot spots after a fire in Nederland, Colorado.Matthew Jonas/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images/MediaNews Group via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $76,560
Annual 10th percentile salary: $47,030
Annual 90th percentile salary: $109,680
ConnecticutA helicopter fights a brush fire at Lamentation Mountain in Berlin, Connecticut.Connecticut Post/Hearst Newspapers/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $77,660
Annual 10th percentile salary: $48,580
Annual 90th percentile salary: $86,140
DelawareThe Wilmington Fire Department celebrates its 100th anniversary.BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $48,060
Annual 10th percentile salary: $40,560
Annual 90th percentile salary: $72,380
FloridaA firetruck drives through the streets of Altamonte Springs, Florida, in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel
Median annual salary: $58,360
Annual 10th percentile salary: $37,330
Annual 90th percentile salary: $90,010
GeorgiaFirefighters respond to a fire at an antiques mall in Atlanta, Georgia.Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images
Median annual salary: $45,970
Annual 10th percentile salary: $33,290
Annual 90th percentile salary: $61,530
IdahoChildren squirt water at firefighters in Eagle, Idaho.txking/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $53,860
Annual 10th percentile salary: $31,210
Annual 90th percentile salary: $91,990
IllinoisAn old-fashioned firetruck transports attendees at a St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago, Illinois.Roberto Galan/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $79,080
Annual 10th percentile salary: $33,760
Annual 90th percentile salary: $117,060
IndianaFirefighters extinguish the remnants of a fire in Bloomington, Indiana.Jeremy Hogan/Jeremy Hogan
Median annual salary: $61,470
Annual 10th percentile salary: $36,940
Annual 90th percentile salary: $88,940
IowaFiretrucks after an emergency response in Burlington, Iowa.Ken's Clicks/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $55,190
Annual 10th percentile salary: $34,970
Annual 90th percentile salary: $87,840
KansasEmergency Medical Services vehicles respond to a wildfire near Protection, Kansas.Bo Rader/Wichita Eagle/TNS
Median annual salary: $44,060
Annual 10th percentile salary: $31,030
Annual 90th percentile salary: $76,390
KentuckyTwo firefighters stand amidst a pile of rubble after a tornado in Dawson Springs, Kentucky.Scott Olson/Getty Images
Median annual salary: $37,140
Annual 10th percentile salary: $26,680
Annual 90th percentile salary: $58,860
LouisianaFirefighters rest after extinguishing a fire in New Orleans, Louisiana.Jen Golbeck/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $33,700
Annual 10th percentile salary: $23,320
Annual 90th percentile salary: $52,080
MaineFirefighters walk through floodwaters during an emergency response in Ocean Park, Maine.Portland Press Herald/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $47,490
Annual 10th percentile salary: $33,900
Annual 90th percentile salary: $63,040
MarylandFirefighters gather during a response in Baltimore, Maryland.Wesley Lapointe for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $70,580
Annual 10th percentile salary: $45,450
Annual 90th percentile salary: $99,940
MassachusettsFirefighters clean up after extinguishing an electric car fire in Boston, MA.David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $73,110
Annual 10th percentile salary: $47,330
Annual 90th percentile salary: $98,610
MichiganFirefighters practice a water rescue on Lake St. Clair near Harrison Township, Michigan.UCG/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $55,570
Annual 10th percentile salary: $37,440
Annual 90th percentile salary: $78,590
MinnesotaA firetruck drives in a parade in Staples, Minnesota.Jerry Pruitt/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $41,990
Annual 10th percentile salary: $29,040
Annual 90th percentile salary: $72,970
MississippiA firefighter walks past a damaged house in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $36,980
Annual 10th percentile salary: $27,070
Annual 90th percentile salary: $54,030
MissouriA firefighter stands in front of the rubble of a strip mall in Ferguson, Missouri.Scott Olson/Getty Images
Median annual salary: $48,470
Annual 10th percentile salary: $29,910
Annual 90th percentile salary: $76,960
MontanaFirefighters put out a wildfire in Big Timber, Montana.Avalon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $64,020
Annual 10th percentile salary: $46,640
Annual 90th percentile salary: $78,880
NebraskaFirefighters battle a fire near Springview, Nebraska.Dave Weaver/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $61,760
Annual 10th percentile salary: $45,120
Annual 90th percentile salary: $69,400
NevadaA firefighter opens the storage compartment of a firetruck in North Las Vegas, Nevada.Kyle Oster/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $67,120
Annual 10th percentile salary: $48,170
Annual 90th percentile salary: $97,440
New HampshireFirefighters drive a vintage firetruck at a Christmas parade in Concord, New Hampshire.Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty
Median annual salary: $57,030
Annual 10th percentile salary: $34,770
Annual 90th percentile salary: $83,770
New JerseyFirefighters use a truck's ladder to battle a fire in Hawthorne, New Jersey.Anadolu/Anadolu via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $87,660
Annual 10th percentile salary: $47,090
Annual 90th percentile salary: $124,980
New MexicoFirefighters undergoing training in Abeytas, New Mexico.MICHAEL A JACKSON FILMS/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $42,920
Annual 10th percentile salary: $31,200
Annual 90th percentile salary: $59,580
New YorkFirefighters conversing while responding to a fire in New York City.Anadolu/Anadolu via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $88,380
Annual 10th percentile salary: $56,220
Annual 90th percentile salary: $105,270
North CarolinaFirefighters take a break after responding to a wildfire in Saluda, North Carolina.Allison Joyce/Getty Images
Median annual salary: $37,250
Annual 10th percentile salary: $28,360
Annual 90th percentile salary: $64,140
North DakotaA firefighter works with volunteers to prepare for a flood in Horace, North Dakota.Scott Olson/Getty Images
Median annual salary: $53,660
Annual 10th percentile salary: $37,950
Annual 90th percentile salary: $74,610
OhioFirefighters hose down a house in Dayton, Ohio.Martin Wheeler III/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $59,470
Annual 10th percentile salary: $35,420
Annual 90th percentile salary: $87,160
OklahomaFirefighters put out hotspots in a home after a wildfire in Mannford, Oklahoma.Scott Olson/Getty Images
Median annual salary: $47,270
Annual 10th percentile salary: $28,990
Annual 90th percentile salary: $76,700
OregonFirefighters put out a hotspot after a wildfire northeast of Klamath Falls, Oregon.Payton Bruni / AFP
Median annual salary: $73,270
Annual 10th percentile salary: $35,010
Annual 90th percentile salary: $102,920
PennsylvaniaFirefighters fill a hydrant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Cavan-Images/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $71,430
Annual 10th percentile salary: $34,820
Annual 90th percentile salary: $90,240
Rhode IslandA firefighter directs a firetruck while standing in a flooded street in Cranston, Rhode Island.Darren McCollester/Getty Images
Median annual salary: $69,480
Annual 10th percentile salary: $52,000
Annual 90th percentile salary: $89,140
South CarolinaFirefighters rescue a baby turtle caught in a fishing net in Charleston, South Carolina.Adam McCullough/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $45,960
Annual 10th percentile salary: $29,220
Annual 90th percentile salary: $64,010
South DakotaChildren line up to view a firetruck in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.Jim Parkin/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $47,520
Annual 10th percentile salary: $35,650
Annual 90th percentile salary: $62,140
TennesseeFirefighters respond to a house fire in Nashville, Tennessee.Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
Median annual salary: $47,300
Annual 10th percentile salary: $32,480
Annual 90th percentile salary: $71,300
TexasFirefighters participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Parade in Houston, Texas.Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $60,840
Annual 10th percentile salary: $42,430
Annual 90th percentile salary: $76,840
UtahFiretrucks at a station in Saint George, Utah.MATTHEW GOLDBERG/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $49,270
Annual 10th percentile salary: $35,890
Annual 90th percentile salary: $81,240
VermontFirefighters put out a barn fire in Charlotte, Vermont.Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images
Median annual salary: $46,130
Annual 10th percentile salary: $31,480
Annual 90th percentile salary: $58,240
VirginiaFirefighters gather in a huddle during training in New Baltimore, Virginia.Cindy Goff/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $58,300
Annual 10th percentile salary: $38,280
Annual 90th percentile salary: $78,220
WashingtonFirefighters gather in response to a fire in Seattle, Washington.Ian Dewar Photography/Shutterstock
Median annual salary: $93,490
Annual 10th percentile salary: $41,650
Annual 90th percentile salary: $118,460
West VirginiaFirefighters spray water at a house fire in West Virginia.Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $41,500
Annual 10th percentile salary: $29,280
Annual 90th percentile salary: $59,770
WisconsinA firefighter observes flooding in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.Andy Manis/Getty Images
Median annual salary: $47,710
Annual 10th percentile salary: $31,200
Annual 90th percentile salary: $77,960
WyomingFirefighters work near Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.GEORGE FREY/AFP via Getty Images
Median annual salary: $51,850
Annual 10th percentile salary: $38,890
Annual 90th percentile salary: $70,570
Read the original article on Business Insider