Firefighter Salary Report 2026: Every State Ranked (BLS Data)

The average firefighter salary in the United States is $63,630 a year (median $59,280), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey released in 2026 covering May 2025. California pays the most at $95,090, Louisiana the least at $36,610, a spread of $58,480. This report ranks every state and the District of Columbia, and every number links to a full state breakdown.

Data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, occupation 33-2011 (Firefighters), May 2025 estimates. Updated each year when the new survey is released. Free to cite and reproduce with a link to this page.

Key Findings

• National: mean $63,630, median $59,280, entry level (10th percentile) $34,910, top earners (90th percentile) $101,040.
• Highest-paying states: California ($95,090), Washington ($89,200), New York ($87,150), New Jersey ($85,810), District of Columbia ($79,550).
• Lowest-paying states: Louisiana ($36,610), Mississippi ($37,230), West Virginia ($40,100), Kentucky ($42,100), North Carolina ($43,060).
• Largest employers: California (31,470), Texas (28,170), Florida (24,570), North Carolina (19,410), Illinois (18,400). Roughly 343,370 career firefighters are counted across the states in the survey.
• The pay gap is regional and union-driven. The top of the table is West Coast, Northeast, and strong collective-bargaining states. The bottom is the Southeast and rural Plains, where volunteer coverage dominates and bargaining is limited.
• Base salary understates take-home. Overtime, paramedic incentive, and step raises commonly add 10 to 30 percent, and none of that is in the BLS mean.

Firefighter Salary by State, Ranked

#	State	Mean	Median	Entry (10th pct.)	Top (90th pct.)	Employed
1	California	$95,090	$85,120	$52,390	$136,150	31,470
2	Washington	$89,200	$94,520	$47,640	$123,980	7,560
3	New York	$87,150	$100,960	$56,390	$106,440	12,950
4	New Jersey	$85,810	$84,130	$47,920	$123,940	7,500
5	Washington, D.C.	$79,550	$75,870	$61,050	$99,760	1,480
6	Colorado	$78,380	$74,170	$47,000	$114,170	6,510
7	Illinois	$76,530	$78,380	$38,900	$106,060	18,400
8	Connecticut	$73,760	$77,630	$51,320	$85,500	2,970
9	Massachusetts	$73,220	$72,800	$49,730	$98,130	11,940
10	Maryland	$72,550	$73,810	$48,030	$98,770	5,340
11	Pennsylvania	$71,340	$73,460	$48,620	$89,190	5,020
12	Oregon	$71,290	$70,900	$38,800	$104,070	3,790
13	Nevada	$70,510	$66,570	$47,600	$101,450	2,640
14	Rhode Island	$67,480	$67,380	$56,110	$76,620	1,620
15	Indiana	$62,420	$62,780	$38,460	$81,890	8,530
16	Florida	$61,370	$58,550	$37,260	$93,310	24,570
17	Arizona	$60,850	$59,280	$36,700	$88,220	7,500
18	Texas	$60,390	$60,180	$40,020	$77,170	28,170
19	Alaska	$59,190	$58,830	$35,520	$82,360	1,040
20	Nebraska	$59,190	$61,040	$46,660	$69,460	1,070
21	Virginia	$58,240	$58,670	$38,310	$77,310	11,160
22	Ohio	$58,130	$59,370	$34,420	$84,010	18,100
23	North Dakota	$57,980	$55,080	$39,700	$77,530	820
24	Montana	$57,660	$59,310	$32,810	$76,620	1,010
25	Iowa	$57,240	$55,810	$32,240	$87,720	2,170
26	Wyoming	$56,800	$58,090	$39,550	$78,760	680
27	Michigan	$56,250	$54,640	$37,190	$78,550	6,610
28	New Hampshire	$55,730	$56,620	$35,450	$78,570	2,700
29	Missouri	$55,240	$49,080	$31,140	$79,360	6,580
30	Idaho	$54,470	$47,320	$30,280	$81,190	2,240
31	Delaware	$53,420	$46,710	$41,960	$72,160	560
32	Oklahoma	$52,280	$49,710	$31,620	$77,560	4,150
33	Tennessee	$51,590	$49,300	$33,910	$70,460	7,020
34	Utah	$51,270	$48,310	$27,660	$80,320	2,870
35	South Dakota	$51,180	$48,160	$39,240	$61,420	610
36	Wisconsin	$50,710	$46,850	$29,390	$77,050	8,120
37	Maine	$50,230	$48,290	$35,740	$63,740	2,480
38	Alabama	$49,720	$47,600	$29,770	$76,190	7,260
39	Vermont	$49,570	$46,430	$29,790	$77,200	—
40	Kansas	$49,110	$45,900	$32,810	$76,110	3,360
41	Georgia	$47,170	$46,550	$33,000	$61,510	12,700
42	Minnesota	$45,170	$38,110	$27,510	$70,380	5,810
43	South Carolina	$43,900	$42,570	$29,130	$62,150	7,780
44	Arkansas	$43,380	$39,690	$28,680	$60,860	2,480
45	New Mexico	$43,180	$41,590	$31,200	$57,780	2,420
46	North Carolina	$43,060	$37,940	$29,360	$61,940	19,410
47	Kentucky	$42,100	$37,150	$27,870	$60,720	5,150
48	West Virginia	$40,100	$37,350	$29,020	$51,390	900
49	Mississippi	$37,230	$35,880	$26,850	$51,310	2,920
50	Louisiana	$36,610	$33,120	$22,510	$56,670	5,230

How to Read This

The mean is the average of all firefighter wages in the state and is pulled upward by big-city departments. The median is the middle firefighter and usually the better guide to what a mid-career firefighter earns. The 10th percentile approximates entry-level pay at smaller departments; the 90th percentile approximates senior firefighters at the largest, best-paying departments. BLS does not include volunteers, and it excludes chief officers, who are counted in a separate management occupation. Where a value is missing, BLS suppressed it for that state.

Methodology

All figures are annual mean, median, 10th and 90th percentile wages and total employment for SOC 33-2011 from the May 2025 OEWS state estimates, pulled from the BLS public API. Rankings are by mean annual wage. National figures are from the OEWS national table for the same period. We do not adjust for cost of living on this page; each state page discusses local housing and living costs.

Use This Data

Journalists, unions, recruiters, and academies are welcome to cite this report. Link to this page as the source. For a personalized estimate by state, experience, and rank, use the Firefighter Salary Calculator. For the path to the job, start with How to Become a Firefighter.