Firefighter Salary by State (2026)

Name: Firefighter annual wages by US state, May 2025
Creator: NueCareer
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Firefighters earn the most in New York at $100,960 a year and the least in Louisiana at $33,120 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $59,280. All 51 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $100,960
National median: $59,280
Lowest median: $33,120
States reporting: 51

Top 5 states for Firefighters

1. New York$100,960 median · $93,550 adjusted · 12,950 employed
2. Washington$94,520 median · $88,326 adjusted · 7,560 employed
3. California$85,120 median · $76,879 adjusted · 31,470 employed
4. New Jersey$84,130 median · $77,322 adjusted · 7,500 employed
5. Illinois$78,380 median · $78,413 adjusted · 18,400 employed

Lowest-paying states for Firefighters

51. Louisiana$33,120 median · $37,548 adjusted · 5,230 employed
50. Mississippi$35,880 median · $41,264 adjusted · 2,920 employed
49. Puerto Rico$37,120 median · no price parity · 1,780 employed
48. Kentucky$37,150 median · $41,205 adjusted · 5,150 employed
47. West Virginia$37,350 median · $41,733 adjusted · 900 employed

Firefighter salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of firefighters OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
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1	New York	$100,960	$65,420	$106,430	12,950	$93,550
2	Washington	$94,520	$72,300	$105,540	7,560	$88,326
3	California	$85,120	$65,170	$109,620	31,470	$76,879
4	New Jersey	$84,130	$61,340	$106,330	7,500	$77,322
5	Illinois	$78,380	$47,910	$103,530	18,400	$78,413
6	Connecticut	$77,630	$64,180	$81,810	2,970	$74,925
7	District of Columbia	$75,870	$65,090	$92,110	1,480	$69,035
8	Colorado	$74,170	$60,970	$101,260	6,510	$71,973
9	Maryland	$73,810	$57,160	$90,760	5,340	$70,323
10	Pennsylvania	$73,460	$56,210	$89,190	5,020	$75,288
11	Massachusetts	$72,800	$61,800	$80,070	11,940	$68,837
12	Oregon	$70,900	$49,420	$90,980	3,790	$68,595
13	Rhode Island	$67,380	$60,650	$75,860	1,620	$65,878
14	Nevada	$66,570	$56,620	$78,130	2,640	$66,584
15	Indiana	$62,780	$50,300	$75,860	8,530	$67,267
16	Nebraska	$61,040	$51,910	$61,040	1,070	$67,745
17	Texas	$60,180	$48,680	$71,980	28,170	$62,005
18	Ohio	$59,370	$40,710	$74,250	18,100	$63,994
19	Montana	$59,310	$47,770	$68,100	1,010	$62,666
20	Arizona	$59,280	$46,750	$77,690	7,500	$58,881
21	Alaska	$58,830	$42,510	$74,650	1,040	$57,474
22	Virginia	$58,670	$46,200	$70,530	11,160	$58,029
23	Florida	$58,550	$45,900	$75,840	24,570	$56,617
24	Wyoming	$58,090	$43,600	$64,940	680	$62,671
25	New Hampshire	$56,620	$45,050	$63,650	2,700	$54,356
26	Iowa	$55,810	$46,020	$63,280	2,170	$63,592
27	North Dakota	$55,080	$47,590	$71,930	820	$61,916
28	Michigan	$54,640	$43,560	$67,440	6,610	$56,788
29	Oklahoma	$49,710	$38,220	$62,410	4,150	$56,590
30	Tennessee	$49,300	$39,360	$61,670	7,020	$53,663
31	Missouri	$49,080	$37,340	$64,170	6,580	$54,043
32	Utah	$48,310	$37,590	$60,880	2,870	$48,865
33	Maine	$48,290	$43,420	$59,290	2,480	$49,758
34	South Dakota	$48,160	$46,730	$59,800	610	$54,365
35	Alabama	$47,600	$37,150	$59,520	7,260	$53,590
36	Idaho	$47,320	$35,380	$76,280	2,240	$49,553
37	Wisconsin	$46,850	$36,490	$62,660	8,120	$49,790
38	Delaware	$46,710	$45,300	$60,670	560	$46,800
39	Georgia	$46,550	$37,100	$55,390	12,700	$48,342
40	Vermont	$46,430	$37,100	$59,600	N/A	$47,398
41	Kansas	$45,900	$37,440	$57,950	3,360	$50,961
42	South Carolina	$42,570	$34,510	$49,570	7,780	$45,408
43	New Mexico	$41,590	$36,520	$48,290	2,420	$45,103
44	Arkansas	$39,690	$33,560	$52,000	2,480	$45,654
45	Minnesota	$38,110	$31,110	$59,350	5,810	$38,643
46	North Carolina	$37,940	$34,010	$47,690	19,410	$40,222
47	West Virginia	$37,350	$32,950	$44,100	900	$41,733
48	Kentucky	$37,150	$33,390	$48,120	5,150	$41,205
49	Puerto Rico	$37,120	$32,000	$42,560	1,780	N/A
50	Mississippi	$35,880	$29,430	$44,060	2,920	$41,264
51	Louisiana	$33,120	$27,510	$44,770	5,230	$37,548

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Firefighters, that changes the ranking: New York leads on raw pay at $100,960, while New York leads once prices are taken into account at $93,550.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Firefighter pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Firefighters the most?

New York reports the highest median wage for Firefighters at $100,960 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($94,520) and California ($85,120).

Which state pays Firefighters the least?

Louisiana reports the lowest median for Firefighters at $33,120 a year, $67,840 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Firefighters earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts New York first at $93,550 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $100,960. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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