Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

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 this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
324,620 0.9 % $26.27 $54,650 1.0 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $12.29 $16.57 $24.45 $33.19 $44.24
Annual Wage (2) $25,550 $34,470 $50,850 $69,040 $92,020


Industry profile for this occupation:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 289,310 5.22 $26.82 $55,780
Other Support Services 14,520 4.42 $17.11 $35,590
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 9,400 0.43 $25.49 $53,020
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 7,470 0.37 $25.30 $52,620
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services 700 0.23 $18.46 $38,400

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 289,310 5.22 $26.82 $55,780
Other Support Services 14,520 4.42 $17.11 $35,590
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 9,400 0.43 $25.49 $53,020
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 7,470 0.37 $25.30 $52,620
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services 700 0.23 $18.46 $38,400

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 390 0.08 $31.41 $65,330
Scientific Research and Development Services 100 0.01 $30.48 $63,400
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 170 0.01 $30.33 $63,090
Ship and Boat Building 110 0.08 $27.67 $57,550
Facilities Support Services (8) (8) $27.57 $57,350


Geographic profile for this occupation:

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





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 33,780 1.94 0.88 $40.56 $84,370
Texas 25,670 2.06 0.93 $26.33 $54,760
Florida 19,560 2.22 1.01 $24.66 $51,300
Ohio 19,200 3.52 1.59 $22.99 $47,820
Illinois 17,180 2.85 1.29 $27.97 $58,170




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

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New Hampshire 2,530 3.83 1.73 $22.65 $47,120
Ohio 19,200 3.52 1.59 $22.99 $47,820
Louisiana 6,750 3.51 1.59 $14.98 $31,150
North Carolina 15,200 3.41 1.54 $16.40 $34,110
Wisconsin 9,450 3.29 1.49 $19.40 $40,360




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 33,780 1.94 0.88 $40.56 $84,370
New Jersey 5,780 1.41 0.64 $38.89 $80,890
Washington 8,060 2.43 1.10 $37.01 $76,970
New York 14,050 1.48 0.67 $36.13 $75,160
Nevada 2,020 1.45 0.66 $33.32 $69,310





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

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 14,900 1.54 0.70 $39.17 $81,470
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 13,000 2.78 1.26 $31.43 $65,380
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 9,850 1.58 0.71 $46.85 $97,450
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 7,960 2.85 1.29 $30.97 $64,410
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 7,950 2.17 0.98 $29.12 $60,560
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 6,860 2.16 0.98 $32.10 $66,760
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 6,300 2.30 1.04 $20.53 $42,710
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 5,950 1.95 0.88 $25.49 $53,010
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 5,000 2.54 1.15 $18.87 $39,240
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 4,640 1.76 0.79 $32.55 $67,700




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

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ 420 8.23 3.72 $21.34 $44,380
Santa Fe, NM 490 7.88 3.56 $11.14 $23,160
Hammond, LA 320 7.19 3.25 $12.18 $25,320
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC 510 6.49 2.94 $20.30 $42,230
Mansfield, OH 300 6.00 2.71 $18.48 $38,440
Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ 190 5.96 2.70 $18.17 $37,790
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 1,040 5.94 2.69 $18.98 $39,470
Leominster-Gardner, MA 310 5.82 2.63 $26.89 $55,930
New Bern, NC 250 5.67 2.57 (8) (8)
Prescott, AZ 360 5.63 2.55 $18.52 $38,520




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 1,620 1.42 0.64 $53.63 $111,550
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 480 3.38 1.53 $49.93 $103,850
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 4,280 1.73 0.78 $47.44 $98,680
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 9,850 1.58 0.71 $46.85 $97,450
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 640 2.02 0.91 $45.51 $94,670
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 1,660 1.37 0.62 $40.80 $84,850
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 4,430 2.19 0.99 $40.68 $84,610
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 350 1.80 0.82 $39.21 $81,560
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 14,900 1.54 0.70 $39.17 $81,470
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 1,910 1.88 0.85 $38.69 $80,470

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 1,580 4.00 1.81 $14.24 $29,620
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,480 5.69 2.57 $13.20 $27,450
South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 1,100 5.21 2.36 $17.82 $37,070
Northeastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 1,070 5.29 2.39 $18.97 $39,450
West Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area 950 5.48 2.48 (8) (8)

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

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 14.92 6.75 $22.97 $47,770
Northwestern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 460 9.50 4.30 $16.60 $34,520
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 890 8.84 4.00 $23.77 $49,430
Northern New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 270 7.41 3.35 $19.62 $40,820
Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area 380 6.28 2.84 $25.24 $52,510

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Western Washington nonmetropolitan area 660 5.34 2.42 $33.15 $68,950
Central East New York nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $29.77 $61,930
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 490 4.78 2.16 $29.62 $61,610
Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area 270 2.76 1.25 $29.39 $61,140
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 370 3.39 1.53 $27.94 $58,110


About May 2019 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 OES estimates and related information:

May 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: July 6, 2020