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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2022

33-2011 Firefighters

Control and extinguish fires or respond to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk. Duties may include fire prevention, emergency medical service, hazardous material response, search and rescue, and disaster assistance.


National estimates for Firefighters
Industry profile for Firefighters
Geographic profile for Firefighters

National estimates for Firefighters:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Firefighters:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
321,450 1.0 % $ 27.07 $ 56,310 0.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for Firefighters:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 14.02 $ 17.98 $ 24.85 $ 34.01 $ 40.75
Annual Wage (2) $ 29,150 $ 37,400 $ 51,680 $ 70,730 $ 84,750


Industry profile for Firefighters:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Firefighters are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Firefighters, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Firefighters:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 279,050 5.19 $ 27.82 $ 57,870
Other Support Services 19,780 6.26 $ 16.97 $ 35,300
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 11,950 0.56 $ 25.90 $ 53,870
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) 7,550 0.36 $ 27.53 $ 57,260
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services 570 0.18 $ 21.01 $ 43,700

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Firefighters:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Other Support Services 19,780 6.26 $ 16.97 $ 35,300
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 279,050 5.19 $ 27.82 $ 57,870
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 11,950 0.56 $ 25.90 $ 53,870
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) 7,550 0.36 $ 27.53 $ 57,260
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services 570 0.18 $ 21.01 $ 43,700

Top paying industries for Firefighters:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing 70 0.06 $ 48.18 $ 100,220
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 50 0.01 $ 41.57 $ 86,470
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services 330 0.02 $ 34.50 $ 71,770
Support Activities for Mining (8) (8) $ 32.96 $ 68,550
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 279,050 5.19 $ 27.82 $ 57,870


Geographic profile for Firefighters:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Firefighters are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Firefighters, see the Create Customized Tables function.



Map of employment of firefighters by state, May 2022


States with the highest employment level in Firefighters:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 32,930 1.87 0.86 $ 37.67 $ 78,350
Texas 25,080 1.93 0.89 $ 25.79 $ 53,630
Florida 21,580 2.34 1.08 $ 27.19 $ 56,560
Ohio 18,790 3.50 1.61 $ 25.14 $ 52,290
Illinois 16,210 2.75 1.27 $ 32.71 $ 68,030


Map of location quotient of firefighters by state, May 2022


States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Firefighters:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Maine 2,280 3.73 1.72 $ 20.59 $ 42,830
New Hampshire 2,400 3.64 1.67 $ 24.11 $ 50,150
Ohio 18,790 3.50 1.61 $ 25.14 $ 52,290
North Carolina 16,140 3.47 1.60 $ 17.63 $ 36,660
Rhode Island 1,630 3.40 1.56 $ 29.02 $ 60,360


Map of annual mean wages of firefighters by state, May 2022


Top paying states for Firefighters:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 32,930 1.87 0.86 $ 37.67 $ 78,350
New Jersey 6,310 1.54 0.71 $ 37.37 $ 77,740
Washington 7,200 2.11 0.97 $ 36.98 $ 76,930
New York 14,150 1.55 0.71 $ 35.35 $ 73,520
Hawaii 1,770 2.98 1.37 $ 35.04 $ 72,880



Map of employment of firefighters by area, May 2022


Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Firefighters:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 15,120 1.65 0.76 $ 37.27 $ 77,520
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 13,150 2.98 1.37 $ 34.03 $ 70,780
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 8,310 3.07 1.41 $ 33.49 $ 69,660
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 7,200 1.18 0.54 $ 43.45 $ 90,380
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 7,160 1.88 0.87 $ 27.74 $ 57,700
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 6,930 2.29 1.05 $ 30.75 $ 63,960
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 6,260 2.30 1.06 $ 20.47 $ 42,570
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 5,610 1.84 0.85 $ 24.74 $ 51,460
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 5,590 2.13 0.98 $ 36.01 $ 74,890
Columbus, OH 4,350 4.10 1.89 $ 28.04 $ 58,330


Map of location quotient of firefighters by area, May 2022


Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Firefighters:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Redding, CA 540 7.97 3.67 $ 29.37 $ 61,090
Fayetteville, NC 950 7.39 3.40 $ 18.04 $ 37,510
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ 400 7.28 3.35 $ 20.90 $ 43,470
Hinesville, GA 130 6.49 2.98 $ 20.91 $ 43,500
Chico, CA 490 6.37 2.93 $ 30.47 $ 63,370
The Villages, FL 220 6.15 2.83 $ 20.23 $ 42,080
Mansfield, OH 290 6.10 2.80 $ 22.46 $ 46,730
Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ 200 6.10 2.80 $ 19.77 $ 41,110
Leominster-Gardner, MA 310 6.08 2.80 $ 26.83 $ 55,800
Prescott, AZ 400 6.03 2.78 $ 22.27 $ 46,320


Map of annual mean wages of firefighters by area, May 2022


Top paying metropolitan areas for Firefighters:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 1,330 1.19 0.55 $ 53.64 $ 111,570
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 3,420 1.43 0.66 $ 46.81 $ 97,370
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 400 1.96 0.90 $ 45.59 $ 94,830
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 7,200 1.18 0.54 $ 43.45 $ 90,380
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 3,770 1.85 0.85 $ 40.52 $ 84,270
Modesto, CA 420 2.20 1.01 $ 40.32 $ 83,870
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 490 3.53 1.62 $ 40.09 $ 83,390
Fort Collins, CO 340 2.04 0.94 $ 39.50 $ 82,160
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 2,800 2.72 1.25 $ 39.11 $ 81,340
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 1,450 1.23 0.57 $ 39.01 $ 81,130

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Firefighters:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,150 4.60 2.12 $ 14.16 $ 29,450
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 1,120 11.12 5.11 $ 25.97 $ 54,010
North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous) 900 2.81 1.29 $ 19.31 $ 40,160
Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 880 14.41 6.63 $ 27.78 $ 57,770
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area 850 8.17 3.76 $ 27.67 $ 57,550

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Firefighters:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 880 14.41 6.63 $ 27.78 $ 57,770
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 1,120 11.12 5.11 $ 25.97 $ 54,010
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area 850 8.17 3.76 $ 27.67 $ 57,550
Arizona nonmetropolitan area 700 7.59 3.49 $ 20.42 $ 42,470
South Florida nonmetropolitan area 450 5.66 2.61 $ 22.87 $ 47,560

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Firefighters:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 490 4.97 2.29 $ 34.45 $ 71,650
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 370 3.00 1.38 $ 31.02 $ 64,520
Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area 200 1.98 0.91 $ 30.63 $ 63,720
Southwest New York nonmetropolitan area 220 1.33 0.61 $ 30.36 $ 63,140
Central East New York nonmetropolitan area 180 1.18 0.54 $ 29.86 $ 62,120


About May 2022 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2022 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 25, 2023