Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
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) |
| 317,310 |
1.2 % |
$ 26.58 |
$ 55,290 |
0.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Firefighters:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 13.96 |
$ 17.86 |
$ 24.38 |
$ 31.72 |
$ 39.25 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 29,030 |
$ 37,140 |
$ 50,700 |
$ 65,980 |
$ 81,640 |
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) |
279,570 |
5.20 |
$ 27.23 |
$ 56,640 |
| Other Support Services |
17,110 |
6.09 |
$ 16.89 |
$ 35,120 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
10,260 |
0.47 |
$ 25.65 |
$ 53,350 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) |
7,670 |
0.36 |
$ 26.75 |
$ 55,650 |
| Other Ambulatory Health Care Services |
660 |
0.21 |
$ 19.23 |
$ 40,000 |
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 |
17,110 |
6.09 |
$ 16.89 |
$ 35,120 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
279,570 |
5.20 |
$ 27.23 |
$ 56,640 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
10,260 |
0.47 |
$ 25.65 |
$ 53,350 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) |
7,670 |
0.36 |
$ 26.75 |
$ 55,650 |
| Other Ambulatory Health Care Services |
660 |
0.21 |
$ 19.23 |
$ 40,000 |
Top paying industries for Firefighters:
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) |
| Texas |
29,530 |
2.41 |
1.07 |
$ 25.63 |
$ 53,310 |
| California |
27,730 |
1.68 |
0.74 |
$ 38.94 |
$ 80,990 |
| Florida |
20,420 |
2.37 |
1.05 |
$ 25.71 |
$ 53,480 |
| Ohio |
19,350 |
3.72 |
1.65 |
$ 25.26 |
$ 52,530 |
| North Carolina |
15,410 |
3.49 |
1.55 |
$ 17.76 |
$ 36,950 |
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 |
2,400 |
3.78 |
1.68 |
$ 25.13 |
$ 52,260 |
| Ohio |
19,350 |
3.72 |
1.65 |
$ 25.26 |
$ 52,530 |
| Massachusetts |
12,060 |
3.55 |
1.58 |
$ 31.56 |
$ 65,650 |
| Maine |
2,070 |
3.49 |
1.55 |
$ 21.60 |
$ 44,920 |
| North Carolina |
15,410 |
3.49 |
1.55 |
$ 17.76 |
$ 36,950 |
Top paying states for Firefighters:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New Jersey |
5,960 |
1.55 |
0.69 |
$ 40.83 |
$ 84,930 |
| California |
27,730 |
1.68 |
0.74 |
$ 38.94 |
$ 80,990 |
| Washington |
7,740 |
2.41 |
1.07 |
$ 36.68 |
$ 76,280 |
| New York |
10,640 |
1.23 |
0.54 |
$ 34.94 |
$ 72,670 |
| Colorado |
5,460 |
2.08 |
0.93 |
$ 32.84 |
$ 68,300 |
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 |
12,260 |
1.41 |
0.63 |
$ 38.30 |
$ 79,660 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
11,920 |
2.82 |
1.25 |
$ 31.73 |
$ 65,990 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
8,420 |
3.26 |
1.45 |
$ 32.95 |
$ 68,540 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
7,910 |
2.20 |
0.98 |
$ 28.31 |
$ 58,870 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
6,890 |
2.35 |
1.04 |
$ 30.91 |
$ 64,280 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
6,760 |
1.18 |
0.52 |
$ 44.07 |
$ 91,660 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
6,440 |
2.22 |
0.99 |
$ 24.48 |
$ 50,910 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
5,940 |
2.30 |
1.02 |
$ 21.27 |
$ 44,240 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
5,050 |
2.06 |
0.91 |
$ 32.69 |
$ 68,000 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
4,310 |
2.03 |
0.90 |
$ 24.86 |
$ 51,700 |
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) |
| Fayetteville, NC |
910 |
7.25 |
3.22 |
$ 18.11 |
$ 37,670 |
| Charlottesville, VA |
760 |
7.15 |
3.17 |
(8) |
(8) |
| Leominster-Gardner, MA |
330 |
6.66 |
2.96 |
$ 26.32 |
$ 54,740 |
| Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ |
220 |
6.40 |
2.84 |
$ 19.05 |
$ 39,630 |
| Barnstable Town, MA |
610 |
6.32 |
2.81 |
$ 31.92 |
$ 66,380 |
| Hinesville, GA |
120 |
6.22 |
2.76 |
$ 20.62 |
$ 42,880 |
| Springfield, OH |
270 |
5.98 |
2.66 |
$ 22.41 |
$ 46,620 |
| Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ |
310 |
5.82 |
2.58 |
$ 23.86 |
$ 49,640 |
| San Angelo, TX |
270 |
5.78 |
2.56 |
$ 23.19 |
$ 48,220 |
| Dover-Durham, NH-ME |
280 |
5.77 |
2.56 |
$ 24.25 |
$ 50,440 |
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 |
1,210 |
1.13 |
0.50 |
$ 54.91 |
$ 114,210 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
3,820 |
1.70 |
0.76 |
$ 47.19 |
$ 98,150 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
340 |
1.77 |
0.79 |
$ 46.86 |
$ 97,470 |
| Modesto, CA |
250 |
1.38 |
0.61 |
$ 45.96 |
$ 95,600 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
250 |
1.91 |
0.85 |
$ 44.31 |
$ 92,160 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
6,760 |
1.18 |
0.52 |
$ 44.07 |
$ 91,660 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
3,850 |
2.01 |
0.89 |
$ 42.32 |
$ 88,020 |
| Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ |
290 |
2.50 |
1.11 |
$ 40.72 |
$ 84,700 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA |
1,420 |
1.26 |
0.56 |
$ 40.60 |
$ 84,450 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
1,800 |
1.83 |
0.81 |
$ 40.02 |
$ 83,250 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Firefighters:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Firefighters:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Firefighters:
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.
(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 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
