Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
29-2043 Paramedics
Administer basic or advanced emergency medical care and assess injuries and illnesses. May administer medication intravenously, use equipment such as EKGs, or administer advanced life support to sick or injured individuals. Excludes “Emergency Medical Technicians” (29-2042) and “Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians” (53-3011).
National estimates for Paramedics
Industry profile for Paramedics
Geographic profile for Paramedics
National estimates for Paramedics:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Paramedics:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 96,510 |
1.7 % |
$ 23.80 |
$ 49,500 |
0.5 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Paramedics:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 16.55 |
$ 17.85 |
$ 22.48 |
$ 28.27 |
$ 35.67 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 34,420 |
$ 37,120 |
$ 46,770 |
$ 58,810 |
$ 74,200 |
Industry profile for Paramedics:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Paramedics are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Paramedics, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Paramedics:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Other Ambulatory Health Care Services |
40,320 |
12.93 |
$ 22.57 |
$ 46,950 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
32,290 |
0.60 |
$ 25.52 |
$ 53,090 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
17,470 |
0.31 |
$ 23.67 |
$ 49,230 |
| Other Support Services |
1,860 |
0.66 |
$ 19.12 |
$ 39,770 |
| Offices of Physicians |
1,620 |
0.06 |
$ 26.30 |
$ 54,690 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Paramedics:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Other Ambulatory Health Care Services |
40,320 |
12.93 |
$ 22.57 |
$ 46,950 |
| Other Support Services |
1,860 |
0.66 |
$ 19.12 |
$ 39,770 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
32,290 |
0.60 |
$ 25.52 |
$ 53,090 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
17,470 |
0.31 |
$ 23.67 |
$ 49,230 |
| Nonscheduled Air Transportation |
100 |
0.21 |
$ 38.26 |
$ 79,580 |
Top paying industries for Paramedics:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Nonscheduled Air Transportation |
100 |
0.21 |
$ 38.26 |
$ 79,580 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
40 |
(7) |
$ 33.95 |
$ 70,620 |
| Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories |
160 |
0.05 |
$ 26.33 |
$ 54,760 |
| Offices of Physicians |
1,620 |
0.06 |
$ 26.30 |
$ 54,690 |
| Chemical Manufacturing (3251, 3252, 3253, and 3259 only) |
40 |
0.01 |
$ 25.63 |
$ 53,310 |
Geographic profile for Paramedics:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Paramedics are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Paramedics, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Paramedics:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Texas |
9,150 |
0.75 |
1.09 |
$ 21.99 |
$ 45,730 |
| New York |
5,660 |
0.65 |
0.95 |
$ 27.56 |
$ 57,320 |
| California |
5,150 |
0.31 |
0.45 |
$ 27.97 |
$ 58,190 |
| Florida |
4,970 |
0.58 |
0.84 |
$ 22.46 |
$ 46,710 |
| North Carolina |
4,910 |
1.11 |
1.62 |
$ 20.48 |
$ 42,610 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Paramedics:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| West Virginia |
930 |
1.41 |
2.06 |
$ 19.02 |
$ 39,550 |
| Maine |
720 |
1.22 |
1.78 |
$ 21.92 |
$ 45,590 |
| Tennessee |
3,360 |
1.13 |
1.64 |
$ 22.20 |
$ 46,170 |
| North Carolina |
4,910 |
1.11 |
1.62 |
$ 20.48 |
$ 42,610 |
| Oklahoma |
1,690 |
1.08 |
1.58 |
$ 20.07 |
$ 41,750 |
Top paying states for Paramedics:
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Paramedics:
| 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 |
4,050 |
0.47 |
0.68 |
$ 31.48 |
$ 65,490 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
3,310 |
0.78 |
1.14 |
$ 30.37 |
$ 63,180 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
2,280 |
0.88 |
1.29 |
$ 22.44 |
$ 46,670 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
2,250 |
0.63 |
0.92 |
$ 23.24 |
$ 48,340 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
1,930 |
0.67 |
0.97 |
$ 21.35 |
$ 44,400 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
1,540 |
0.60 |
0.87 |
$ 28.78 |
$ 59,860 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
1,510 |
0.57 |
0.83 |
$ 28.92 |
$ 60,140 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
1,370 |
0.24 |
0.35 |
$ 28.84 |
$ 59,990 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD |
1,330 |
1.06 |
1.55 |
$ 28.82 |
$ 59,950 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL |
1,100 |
0.86 |
1.26 |
$ 21.22 |
$ 44,140 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Paramedics:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Jackson, TN |
180 |
2.77 |
4.04 |
$ 20.70 |
$ 43,050 |
| Johnstown, PA |
130 |
2.69 |
3.92 |
$ 18.90 |
$ 39,310 |
| Asheville, NC |
490 |
2.59 |
3.79 |
$ 20.27 |
$ 42,160 |
| New Bern, NC |
110 |
2.44 |
3.56 |
$ 19.10 |
$ 39,730 |
| Lewiston-Auburn, ME |
110 |
2.38 |
3.48 |
$ 25.54 |
$ 53,130 |
| Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL |
120 |
2.38 |
3.47 |
$ 16.10 |
$ 33,490 |
| Port St. Lucie, FL |
310 |
2.06 |
3.01 |
$ 28.00 |
$ 58,240 |
| Watertown-Fort Drum, NY |
70 |
1.83 |
2.68 |
$ 22.11 |
$ 45,990 |
| New Bedford, MA |
110 |
1.77 |
2.58 |
$ 26.67 |
$ 55,480 |
| Alexandria, LA |
100 |
1.76 |
2.58 |
$ 23.86 |
$ 49,630 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Paramedics:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
960 |
0.50 |
0.73 |
$ 45.33 |
$ 94,290 |
| Longview, WA |
40 |
1.05 |
1.53 |
$ 41.32 |
$ 85,940 |
| Olympia-Tumwater, WA |
100 |
0.85 |
1.24 |
$ 41.12 |
$ 85,530 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale, WA |
90 |
1.04 |
1.52 |
$ 41.06 |
$ 85,400 |
| Bellingham, WA |
60 |
0.68 |
0.99 |
$ 40.83 |
$ 84,930 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA |
60 |
1.17 |
1.71 |
$ 36.92 |
$ 76,790 |
| Barnstable Town, MA |
70 |
0.73 |
1.07 |
$ 36.47 |
$ 75,860 |
| Kennewick-Richland, WA |
80 |
0.68 |
0.99 |
$ 36.11 |
$ 75,120 |
| Fond du Lac, WI |
40 |
0.90 |
1.31 |
$ 36.05 |
$ 74,990 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA |
480 |
0.42 |
0.62 |
$ 35.91 |
$ 74,690 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Paramedics:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Paramedics:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Paramedics:
About May 2021 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.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(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 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
