Oklahoma Firefighter Salary (2026) – OKC, Broken Arrow, Moore & City Pay

Oklahoma is one of those states where a salary page can become misleading very quickly if every city is forced into the same range. Broken Arrow publishes academy, EMT and paramedic pay separately. Moore publishes a starting rate and a progression ceiling. Edmond still shows a July 2025 academy-versus-post-academy schedule. Oklahoma City and Tulsa both have current union agreements, but their public-facing salary pages do not expose a clean 2026 recruit step that can be responsibly copied into a table.

So this guide does not fill those gaps with salary-site estimates. It uses current municipal figures where they exist and clearly dates older public schedules where they do not.

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Oklahoma Firefighter Wages: $49,710 Is a Statewide Median, Not a Department Offer

The latest BLS-based 2025 wage data show an Oklahoma firefighter median of $49,710 per year. The 25th percentile is $38,220, the 75th percentile is $62,410, and the statewide 10th-to-90th percentile range is $31,620 to $77,560.

That statewide number is useful for understanding the labor market, but it understates some current municipal fire pay. Broken Arrow's published Firefighter/EMT base is already above $71,000, while smaller-city recruit and firefighter postings can remain near or below the statewide median.

Regional BLS data also show the spread. Lawton's median is $36,500, while Northeast Oklahoma's nonmetropolitan median is $43,250. The exact city department and certification level matter more than the statewide average.

Oklahoma Firefighter Salary by City — What Can Be Verified

A department with a stale public web page is not a blank check to invent a 2026 number. Where the current contract exists but the salary table is not exposed cleanly, the article says that directly.

Oklahoma City Firefighter Salary: Current Hiring Information, but No Clean 2026 Public Step Table

Oklahoma City Fire Department is Oklahoma's largest career fire organization, with roughly 1,000 uniformed firefighters and 38 stations. Its recruiting site is current, its 2026 benefits material is current, and Professional Fire Fighters of Oklahoma lists an Oklahoma City 2025–2026 collective bargaining agreement posted in July 2026.

What is not cleanly available on the current public recruiting pages is a 2026 Fire Recruit salary figure.

The last easily indexed Oklahoma City Fire Recruit bulletin with pay is from 2022. Because a current collective bargaining agreement now exists, using that old amount as a 2026 salary would be misleading.

Current OKCFD recruitment materials do confirm that recruits complete a 16–18 week academy, remain probationary through their first year, must obtain EMT licensure before finishing probation, and can receive preference for paramedic certification.

Tulsa Firefighter Salary: The City's Public Salary Page Is Out of Date

Tulsa has the same data-quality problem in a different form. The City's Human Resources page currently lists the IAFF Local 176 FY25–26 collective bargaining agreement as the controlling contract for represented firefighters.

But Tulsa Fire Department's public “Salary and Benefit Information” page still says “As of June 2022” before listing cadet and probationary firefighter pay.

Those numbers are therefore useful only as historical context. They should not be copied into a 2026 salary table.

Tulsa's published contract materials do show that EMS credentials matter. Firefighters with EMT certification receive certification pay under the agreement, while paramedics in the ALS/Paramedic program receive a percentage stipend tied to years in the program.

Broken Arrow Firefighter Salary: One of Oklahoma's Best Current Pay Sources

Broken Arrow publishes its fire compensation clearly enough to separate the academy, EMT and paramedic stages.

• Base salary during academy: $58,633.05
• Firefighter/EMT base after probation and licensure: $71,592.30
• Firefighter/Paramedic base: $82,868.74

The City also says additional incentives and tuition reimbursement may apply.

This is more useful than the old article's estimated $44,000–$68,000 Broken Arrow range. The actual City page shows that current post-probation Firefighter/EMT base is already above the old estimate's ceiling.

Broken Arrow firefighter paramedic pay

The published difference between Firefighter/EMT and Firefighter/Paramedic base is $11,276.44 per year. That gives candidates a real Oklahoma example of the value of paramedic licensure without inventing a statewide “paramedic premium.”

Moore Firefighter Salary

Moore Fire Department currently lists $54,605.86 starting pay.

After successful probation, firefighters are eligible for annual merit increases and cost-of-living adjustments toward the current maximum base pay for the Recruit Firefighter rank of $81,911.37.

The City also lists EMT-D, Advanced EMT, paramedic, HazMat Technician, child-passenger-seat technician and college incentive pay among possible additions.

Those incentives are not assigned fake dollar values here because the public careers page does not place one universal current amount beside each credential.

Edmond: Academy Pay and Post-Academy Pay Are Very Different

Edmond Fire Department's current careers page uses a 48/96 schedule after academy and publishes two very different monthly rates:

• $3,724.13 per month during recruit academy
• $6,200.20 per month after academy

Annualized over 12 months, those are roughly $44,689.56 and $74,402.40, respectively. The important caveat is the effective date: Edmond explicitly labels the rates “As of 7/1/2025.”

Because that is what the City's current page still displays, the figures remain useful to applicants, but they are not described here as a newly adopted 2026 schedule.

Norman Firefighter Salary: Current Recruiting Page, 2025 Salary Label

Norman's Fire Department recruitment page is active and lays out the current hiring process, including a 2026 hiring timeline. But the salary line still reads “Starting Salary - $56,262 (year - 2025).”

That is exactly the sort of detail a human-edited salary guide should preserve.

Norman's FY2026 financial disclosures confirm that uniformed fire personnel are represented by the IAFF and that a contract was executed for FY2026. Without a cleaner current pay table, the safest approach is to keep the $56,262 figure explicitly tied to 2025.

Current Oklahoma Firefighter Openings Outside the Big Metros

Ardmore

Ardmore opened a Firefighter recruitment on August 10, 2026 with a salary range of $47,914.77 to $49,591.78. The posting remains open through September 20, 2026 and lists a $500 bonus for EMT.

Bartlesville

Bartlesville's continuous Firefighter posting is labeled FY2026 and lists $52,000 annually.

These smaller-city numbers are useful because they show that Oklahoma's current career-fire market is not simply “OKC and Tulsa.” They also explain why the statewide median remains below the current Broken Arrow and Edmond post-academy figures.

Tornado Season Is Operational Reality, Not Guaranteed Overtime

The old version of this page treated tornado season as a predictable overtime opportunity. Oklahoma firefighters absolutely respond to tornadoes, severe storms, wildland fires, flooding and other major incidents, but those events are not a reliable salary component.

Overtime depends on staffing, holdovers, callback rules, FLSA schedules, mutual aid and the local collective bargaining agreement. A severe-weather deployment can produce additional hours in one year and little or none in another.

Oklahoma City, for example, has used additional staffing to reduce callback overtime in past budgets. That shows overtime is a real staffing cost, but it does not establish a “typical $X overtime” figure for an individual firefighter.

For salary comparisons, ask:

1. Is scheduled/FLSA overtime already included in the published annual salary?
2. How are callbacks and mandatory holdovers paid?
3. Does EMT or paramedic incentive pay enter the overtime rate?
4. Are special-event or disaster hours pensionable?
5. How does the department's 24-hour or 48/96 schedule affect annual hours?

OFPRS: 9% Member Contribution, 14% Employer Contribution

For paid firefighters participating in the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System (OFPRS), current state guidance is clear:

The firefighter's 9% contribution is deducted before federal and state tax withholding. The employer's 14% is not another 14% taken from the firefighter's paycheck.

What does an Oklahoma firefighter pension pay after 20 years?

OFPRS says a paid firefighter with 20 years of credited service is entitled to 50% of final average salary. Final average salary is based on the highest 30 consecutive months of the last 60 months of credited service.

Each additional year beyond 20 adds 2.5 percentage points, up to 30 years and a maximum of 75%.

• 20 years: 50%
• 22 years: 55%
• 25 years: 62.5%
• 30 years: 75%

The system also offers Plan B deferred-retirement options for eligible members. Those decisions should be evaluated against the member's actual service history rather than treated as a generic salary benefit.

Oklahoma Income Tax Changed for 2026

Oklahoma reduced individual income-tax rates effective for tax year 2026. The top marginal rate is now 4.5%, down from the 2025 top rate of 4.75%.

For single and married-filing-separately taxpayers, the 2026 schedule is:

For married filing jointly, head of household and surviving-spouse filers, the zero-rate and bracket thresholds are higher.

That means “subtract 4.5% from gross salary” is still not a real take-home calculation. The tax is marginal, and pension, federal withholding, insurance and other deductions matter too.

How to Compare Real Take-Home Pay in Oklahoma

Start with the department's actual pay structure, not the statewide median:

1. Separate academy salary from post-academy firefighter salary.
2. Check whether the classification is Firefighter/EMT or Firefighter/Paramedic.
3. Add only incentives the employer actually publishes and you qualify for.
4. Subtract the 9% OFPRS member contribution if the job is OFPRS-covered.
5. Use the 2026 Oklahoma tax brackets for your filing status.
6. Add health insurance, union dues and voluntary retirement deductions.
7. Keep unscheduled overtime outside the budget unless it is guaranteed by the contract.

Broken Arrow is a good example: comparing its $58,633 academy number with another city's experienced firefighter salary would be misleading. The post-probation EMT base and paramedic base are the better like-for-like comparisons.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average firefighter salary in Oklahoma?

The latest BLS-based 2025 data show an Oklahoma firefighter median of $49,710. The statewide 10th-to-90th percentile range is $31,620–$77,560.

How much does a Broken Arrow firefighter make?

Broken Arrow currently lists $58,633.05 during academy, $71,592.30 for Firefighter/EMT and $82,868.74 for Firefighter/Paramedic.

How much does a Moore firefighter make?

Moore currently lists $54,605.86 starting pay, with progression through merit increases and COLAs toward a current Recruit Firefighter maximum base of $81,911.37.

How much does an Edmond firefighter make?

Edmond's current page still lists rates effective July 1, 2025: $3,724.13/month during academy and $6,200.20/month after academy.

How much do Oklahoma firefighters pay into OFPRS?

Paid firefighters contribute 9% of total gross salary. Participating employers contribute 14%.

What pension does an Oklahoma firefighter receive after 20 years?

OFPRS says 20 years of credited service provides 50% of final average salary. Each additional year adds 2.5 percentage points, up to 75% at 30 years.

What is Oklahoma's income tax rate in 2026?

The top marginal individual rate is 4.5% for tax year 2026, with lower brackets of 0%, 2.5% and 3.5%.

Sources and Data Notes

• O*NET / BLS 2025 Oklahoma firefighter wage data.
• Oklahoma City Fire Department employment.
• Professional Fire Fighters of Oklahoma contract repository — lists Oklahoma City 2025–2026 CBA and other local agreements.
• City of Tulsa collective bargaining agreements.
• Tulsa Fire salary page — explicitly dated June 2022.
• Broken Arrow Fire Department recruitment.
• Moore Fire Department careers.
• Edmond Fire Department careers.
• Norman Fire Department job opportunities.
• Ardmore Firefighter — August 2026.
• Bartlesville FY2026 Firefighter recruitment.
• Oklahoma Firefighters Pension & Retirement System — active member FAQs.
• Oklahoma Tax Commission — 2026 individual income-tax changes.

Editorial note: Oklahoma's public salary information is unusually uneven. Some departments publish excellent current tables; others maintain live recruiting pages while leaving old salary pages online. This article keeps the effective date attached to every older figure and leaves a gap rather than inventing a 2026 rate. Figures were checked against public information available September 8, 2026.

Preparing for an Oklahoma fire-service hiring process? Our firefighter hiring guide covers written testing, physical ability, EMS credentials and academy basics.