Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

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)
311,350	0.7 %	$ 27.09	$ 56,360	1.0 %

Percentile wage estimates for Firefighters:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 12.95	$ 17.24	$ 25.24	$ 34.07	$ 45.09
Annual Wage (2)	$ 26,940	$ 35,850	$ 52,500	$ 70,870	$ 93,790

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)	277,370	5.13	$ 27.64	$ 57,490
Other Support Services	13,720	4.60	$ 17.80	$ 37,020
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	9,310	0.42	$ 26.28	$ 54,670
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	7,660	0.37	$ 26.43	$ 54,970
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	700	0.23	$ 18.64	$ 38,780

Industries with the highest concentration 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)	277,370	5.13	$ 27.64	$ 57,490
Other Support Services	13,720	4.60	$ 17.80	$ 37,020
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	9,310	0.42	$ 26.28	$ 54,670
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	7,660	0.37	$ 26.43	$ 54,970
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	700	0.23	$ 18.64	$ 38,780

Top paying industries for Firefighters:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Spectator Sports	30	0.03	$ 33.83	$ 70,360
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	320	0.06	$ 30.80	$ 64,060
Ship and Boat Building	110	0.08	$ 28.43	$ 59,130
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	110	(7)	$ 28.36	$ 59,000
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	90	0.01	$ 28.29	$ 58,840

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.

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	32,600	1.98	0.89	$ 41.76	$ 86,860
Texas	24,690	2.04	0.91	$ 27.21	$ 56,610
Florida	19,000	2.25	1.01	$ 25.35	$ 52,720
Ohio	17,580	3.42	1.53	$ 24.25	$ 50,440
North Carolina	14,910	3.48	1.55	$ 16.46	$ 34,230

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)
New Hampshire	2,430	3.93	1.75	$ 23.02	$ 47,870
Maine	2,130	3.70	1.65	$ 19.24	$ 40,020
North Carolina	14,910	3.48	1.55	$ 16.46	$ 34,230
Louisiana	6,230	3.46	1.55	$ 15.66	$ 32,580
Ohio	17,580	3.42	1.53	$ 24.25	$ 50,440

Top paying states for Firefighters:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New Jersey	6,800	1.80	0.80	$ 41.77	$ 86,880
California	32,600	1.98	0.89	$ 41.76	$ 86,860
Washington	6,520	2.04	0.91	$ 37.36	$ 77,700
New York	14,200	1.63	0.73	$ 37.20	$ 77,380
Hawaii	1,810	3.15	1.41	$ 32.97	$ 68,590

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	15,770	1.79	0.80	$ 40.89	$ 85,040
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	10,680	2.45	1.09	$ 31.96	$ 66,480
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	9,970	1.71	0.76	$ 48.19	$ 100,230
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	7,400	2.06	0.92	$ 30.46	$ 63,360
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	7,350	2.82	1.26	$ 32.50	$ 67,590
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	6,560	2.17	0.97	$ 33.35	$ 69,370
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	6,120	2.32	1.04	$ 20.03	$ 41,660
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	5,920	1.99	0.89	$ 26.03	$ 54,140
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	4,680	1.87	0.83	$ 33.17	$ 68,980
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	4,030	3.33	1.49	$ 16.61	$ 34,540

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)
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ	440	8.79	3.93	$ 21.81	$ 45,360
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC	500	6.71	3.00	$ 21.82	$ 45,390
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI	790	6.24	2.79	$ 26.27	$ 54,650
Yakima, WA	560	6.23	2.78	$ 29.85	$ 62,080
Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ	200	6.19	2.77	$ 17.51	$ 36,420
Mansfield, OH	270	5.99	2.68	$ 19.00	$ 39,520
Leominster-Gardner, MA	280	5.85	2.61	$ 28.47	$ 59,220
Hinesville, GA	100	5.74	2.57	$ 20.26	$ 42,130
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA	910	5.57	2.49	$ 19.82	$ 41,220
Jacksonville, NC	250	5.48	2.45	$ 19.29	$ 40,120