Firefighter Salary by State: 2026 Comparison
Compare state median wages or two job offers. Find the salary needed to match purchasing power after a move.
BLS May 2025 · MERIC Q2 2026 · Verified October 9, 2026 · Sources and methodology
Compare firefighter pay and job offers
Salary needed in Delaware to match State A
$61,034 / yearState B's median wage is $14,324 below that gross living-cost equivalent. Taxes, benefits and local housing costs can change the outcome.
Firefighter salary by state — all 50 states and DC
BLS May 2025 median wages (SOC 33-2011), published by O*NET. Living costs: MERIC Q2 2026. Hawaii has no published wage benchmark in this release.
| State | Median / year | 10th–90th percentile | Living costs | Gross adjusted pay | Housing | Explore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (NY) | $100,960 | $56,390–$106,440 | 132.6 | $76,139 | 194.8 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Washington (WA) | $94,520 | $47,640–$123,980 | 115.1 | $82,120 | 124.6 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| California (CA) | $85,120 | $52,390–$136,150 | 140.3 | $60,670 | 192.1 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| New Jersey (NJ) | $84,130 | $47,920–$123,940 | 119.2 | $70,579 | 145.1 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Illinois (IL) | $78,380 | $38,900–$106,060 | 94.5 | $82,942 | 83.3 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Connecticut (CT) | $77,630 | $51,320–$85,500 | 103.6 | $74,932 | 97.0 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| District of Columbia (DC) | $75,870 | $61,050–$99,760 | 133.8 | $56,704 | 186.9 | Compare · Source |
| Colorado (CO) | $74,170 | $47,000–$114,170 | 102.7 | $72,220 | 108.6 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Maryland (MD) | $73,810 | $48,030–$98,770 | 118.8 | $62,130 | 144.1 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Pennsylvania (PA) | $73,460 | $48,620–$89,190 | 95.3 | $77,083 | 84.8 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Massachusetts (MA) | $72,800 | $49,730–$98,130 | 148.1 | $49,156 | 213.2 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Oregon (OR) | $70,900 | $38,800–$104,070 | 110.4 | $64,221 | 118.8 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Rhode Island (RI) | $67,380 | $56,110–$76,620 | 110.9 | $60,757 | 117.1 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Nevada (NV) | $66,570 | $47,600–$101,450 | 105.4 | $63,159 | 119.0 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Indiana (IN) | $62,780 | $38,460–$81,890 | 89.7 | $69,989 | 77.5 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Nebraska (NE) | $61,040 | $46,660–$69,460 | 90.1 | $67,747 | 76.5 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Texas (TX) | $60,180 | $40,020–$77,170 | 90.8 | $66,278 | 77.2 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Ohio (OH) | $59,370 | $34,420–$84,010 | 93.0 | $63,839 | 85.8 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Montana (MT) | $59,310 | $32,810–$76,620 | 106.0 | $55,953 | 114.9 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Arizona (AZ) | $59,280 | $36,700–$88,220 | 108.6 | $54,586 | 120.5 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Alaska (AK) | $58,830 | $35,520–$82,360 | 124.5 | $47,253 | 126.7 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Virginia (VA) | $58,670 | $38,310–$77,310 | 99.0 | $59,263 | 99.3 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Florida (FL) | $58,550 | $37,260–$93,310 | 100.8 | $58,085 | 99.3 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Wyoming (WY) | $58,090 | $39,550–$78,760 | 94.4 | $61,536 | 88.5 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| New Hampshire (NH) | $56,620 | $35,450–$78,570 | 108.5 | $52,184 | 113.9 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Iowa (IA) | $55,810 | $32,240–$87,720 | 86.1 | $64,820 | 70.6 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| North Dakota (ND) | $55,080 | $39,700–$77,530 | 90.5 | $60,862 | 77.0 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Michigan (MI) | $54,640 | $37,190–$78,550 | 92.1 | $59,327 | 82.9 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Oklahoma (OK) | $49,710 | $31,620–$77,560 | 83.0 | $59,892 | 65.1 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Tennessee (TN) | $49,300 | $33,910–$70,460 | 89.7 | $54,961 | 80.0 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Missouri (MO) | $49,080 | $31,140–$79,360 | 88.2 | $55,646 | 77.7 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Utah (UT) | $48,310 | $27,660–$80,320 | 98.4 | $49,096 | 102.9 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Maine (ME) | $48,290 | $35,740–$63,740 | 112.9 | $42,772 | 128.5 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| South Dakota (SD) | $48,160 | $39,240–$61,420 | 93.5 | $51,508 | 86.3 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Alabama (AL) | $47,600 | $29,770–$76,190 | 86.0 | $55,349 | 68.6 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Idaho (ID) | $47,320 | $30,280–$81,190 | 99.4 | $47,606 | 98.4 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Wisconsin (WI) | $46,850 | $29,390–$77,050 | 95.7 | $48,955 | 91.2 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Delaware (DE) | $46,710 | $41,960–$72,160 | 100.6 | $46,431 | 99.1 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Georgia (GA) | $46,550 | $33,000–$61,510 | 90.1 | $51,665 | 77.6 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Vermont (VT) | $46,430 | $29,790–$77,200 | 113.4 | $40,944 | 128.2 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Kansas (KS) | $45,900 | $32,810–$76,110 | 87.1 | $52,698 | 78.7 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| South Carolina (SC) | $42,570 | $29,130–$62,150 | 92.7 | $45,922 | 79.5 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| New Mexico (NM) | $41,590 | $31,200–$57,780 | 90.2 | $46,109 | 82.4 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Arkansas (AR) | $39,690 | $28,680–$60,860 | 89.0 | $44,596 | 76.9 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Minnesota (MN) | $38,110 | $27,510–$70,380 | 93.4 | $40,803 | 79.1 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| North Carolina (NC) | $37,940 | $29,360–$61,940 | 96.7 | $39,235 | 91.4 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| West Virginia (WV) | $37,350 | $29,020–$51,390 | 87.0 | $42,931 | 69.9 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Kentucky (KY) | $37,150 | $27,870–$60,720 | 94.0 | $39,521 | 79.4 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Mississippi (MS) | $35,880 | $26,850–$51,310 | 87.4 | $41,053 | 70.8 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Louisiana (LA) | $33,120 | $22,510–$56,670 | 91.3 | $36,276 | 81.3 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
| Hawaii (HI) | Not published | Not published | 185.8 | Not published | 302.6 | Compare · Pay guide · Source |
51 states/DC shown
Where do firefighters earn the most?
Two different rankings answer two different questions. Neither predicts the terms offered by a particular department.
Highest median annual wages
Highest gross purchasing power
Adjusted pay = annual median ÷ living-cost index × 100. This is a national-price equivalent in gross dollars, not money deposited into your bank account.
Common relocation comparisons
Research department pay, benefits and hiring
The calculator compares state wage benchmarks. These guides explain department contracts, pay steps and benefits; follow the cited department source and its effective date when evaluating an offer.
- Firefighter salary and department comparison guide
- How to compare firefighter compensation
- Overtime hour tracker
- Shift calendar
Open all state firefighter salary guides
- Alabama firefighter salary
- Alaska firefighter salary
- Arizona firefighter salary
- Arkansas firefighter salary
- California firefighter salary
- Colorado firefighter salary
- Connecticut firefighter salary
- Delaware firefighter salary
- Florida firefighter salary
- Georgia firefighter salary
- Hawaii firefighter salary
- Idaho firefighter salary
- Illinois firefighter salary
- Indiana firefighter salary
- Iowa firefighter salary
- Kansas firefighter salary
- Kentucky firefighter salary
- Louisiana firefighter salary
- Maine firefighter salary
- Maryland firefighter salary
- Massachusetts firefighter salary
- Michigan firefighter salary
- Minnesota firefighter salary
- Mississippi firefighter salary
- Missouri firefighter salary
- Montana firefighter salary
- Nebraska firefighter salary
- Nevada firefighter salary
- New Hampshire firefighter salary
- New Jersey firefighter salary
- New Mexico firefighter salary
- New York firefighter salary
- North Carolina firefighter salary
- North Dakota firefighter salary
- Ohio firefighter salary
- Oklahoma firefighter salary
- Oregon firefighter salary
- Pennsylvania firefighter salary
- Rhode Island firefighter salary
- South Carolina firefighter salary
- South Dakota firefighter salary
- Tennessee firefighter salary
- Texas firefighter salary
- Utah firefighter salary
- Vermont firefighter salary
- Virginia firefighter salary
- Washington firefighter salary
- West Virginia firefighter salary
- Wisconsin firefighter salary
- Wyoming firefighter salary
Data sources and calculation method
Wages:BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, for firefighters (33-2011), as published in O*NET OnLine wage tables. Each state's source is linked directly in the table. We use the median (50th percentile), keeping it separate from the mean.
Living costs:MERIC, second quarter 2026. The composite and housing indices summarize participating cities and metropolitan areas. They are not statewide household budget surveys. A housing index of 150 means the surveyed housing price component is 50% above the U.S. baseline, not that every home or rent is 50% higher.
Compilation and source rights: AllFirefighter's original compilation and explanatory material are subject to our use-of-content terms. Those terms do not change the rights in the underlying source data. BLS-published wage data are public domain under the BLS copyright notice. For the living-cost figures, consult MERIC and its cited C2ER source; AllFirefighter grants no additional license to third-party source material.
Relocation equivalent: salary in State A × living-cost index in State B ÷ living-cost index in State A. We then compare State B's actual offer or published median with that gross equivalent.
Hourly offers: entered base rate × entered or selected annual paid hours. Presets use 52 weeks. They do not account for leap days, Kelly days, paid leave, overtime premiums, shift differentials or pension deductions. The BLS wage definitions use straight-time gross pay and conventional annualization; do not multiply the published BLS hourly benchmark by a firefighter shift pattern and present it as the official annual wage.
Missing values: no regional estimates or other-year replacements are used. Hawaii's current wage distribution stays unavailable. Published COL data still allow an own-offer comparison.
Data verified October 9, 2026. Wage and living-cost periods differ and are labeled separately. Figures are rounded only for display. No account is required. A shared comparison link includes entered pay figures. Editorial policy · Report a correction
Firefighter salary comparison FAQ
How much do firefighters make per year?
The U.S. median annual wage for firefighters was $59,280 in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $34,910 and the 90th percentile was $101,040. These BLS figures are gross straight-time wages, excluding overtime premiums and employer benefit costs.
Which state pays firefighters the most?
Among the published May 2025 state medians in this dataset, New York ranks first at $100,960 per year, followed by Washington and California. This ranks median wages, not mean wages or individual department pay scales.
What is the best-paying state after cost of living?
Illinois leads this dataset when published state median wages are divided by MERIC second-quarter 2026 cost-of-living indices. This is a gross purchasing-power comparison, not take-home pay or a prediction for a particular city.
Are these 2026 salary figures?
This page was verified in October 2026. The wage reference period is May 2025, and the living-cost reference period is the second quarter of 2026. The page year does not mean BLS measured 2026 firefighter wages.
Do the low and high wages mean starting and senior pay?
No. The 10th and 90th percentiles describe the distribution of wages across workers in the occupation. They are not recruit, probationary, officer or seniority steps. Use the specific department hiring bulletin and contract for those rates.
Does this tool calculate taxes or overtime?
No income tax, payroll tax, pension deductions or employer benefits are calculated. Hourly job-offer projections multiply the entered rate by selected annual hours and add no overtime premium. Verify actual paid hours and overtime rules with the department.
Why is Hawaii salary marked not published?
The BLS 2025 data published in the O*NET state wage table do not include a Hawaii firefighter wage estimate. We leave that benchmark unavailable instead of substituting an older year or a regional guess. You can still compare your own Hawaii job offer using the published living-cost index.
Can I use a state index to compare specific cities?
State indices summarize participating cities and can conceal large housing differences. Compare local rent, housing, commuting and benefits before making a move. The housing index is a relative price indicator, not a rent quote.