Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
29-2042 Emergency Medical Technicians
Assess injuries and illnesses and administer basic emergency medical care. May transport injured or sick persons to medical facilities. Excludes “Paramedics” (29-2043), “Firefighters” (33-2011), and “Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians” (53-3011).
National estimates for Emergency Medical Technicians
Industry profile for Emergency Medical Technicians
Geographic profile for Emergency Medical Technicians
National estimates for Emergency Medical Technicians:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Emergency Medical Technicians:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 161,400 |
1.1 % |
$ 17.64 |
$ 36,690 |
0.4 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Emergency Medical Technicians:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 11.36 |
$ 13.91 |
$ 17.05 |
$ 18.11 |
$ 22.88 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 23,620 |
$ 28,920 |
$ 35,470 |
$ 37,660 |
$ 47,580 |
Industry profile for Emergency Medical Technicians:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Emergency Medical Technicians are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Emergency Medical Technicians, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Emergency Medical Technicians:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Other Ambulatory Health Care Services |
76,960 |
24.69 |
$ 15.83 |
$ 32,930 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
39,650 |
0.74 |
$ 19.95 |
$ 41,500 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
31,270 |
0.56 |
$ 18.26 |
$ 37,980 |
| Outpatient Care Centers |
3,250 |
0.33 |
$ 23.95 |
$ 49,820 |
| Other Support Services |
2,640 |
0.94 |
$ 16.22 |
$ 33,740 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Emergency Medical Technicians:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Other Ambulatory Health Care Services |
76,960 |
24.69 |
$ 15.83 |
$ 32,930 |
| Other Support Services |
2,640 |
0.94 |
$ 16.22 |
$ 33,740 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
39,650 |
0.74 |
$ 19.95 |
$ 41,500 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
31,270 |
0.56 |
$ 18.26 |
$ 37,980 |
| Other Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation |
380 |
0.45 |
$ 15.51 |
$ 32,250 |
Top paying industries for Emergency Medical Technicians:
Geographic profile for Emergency Medical Technicians:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Emergency Medical Technicians are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Emergency Medical Technicians, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Emergency Medical Technicians:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
17,500 |
1.06 |
0.92 |
$ 20.40 |
$ 42,420 |
| New York |
12,030 |
1.39 |
1.21 |
$ 19.77 |
$ 41,120 |
| Texas |
10,440 |
0.85 |
0.75 |
$ 16.38 |
$ 34,070 |
| Pennsylvania |
8,210 |
1.47 |
1.28 |
$ 16.08 |
$ 33,450 |
| Illinois |
8,000 |
1.42 |
1.24 |
$ 21.37 |
$ 44,460 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Emergency Medical Technicians:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Vermont |
900 |
3.18 |
2.78 |
$ 17.34 |
$ 36,070 |
| Delaware |
1,020 |
2.35 |
2.05 |
$ 18.79 |
$ 39,090 |
| West Virginia |
1,390 |
2.11 |
1.84 |
$ 13.71 |
$ 28,530 |
| Idaho |
1,270 |
1.68 |
1.46 |
$ 15.90 |
$ 33,080 |
| North Dakota |
640 |
1.61 |
1.40 |
$ 16.42 |
$ 34,150 |
Top paying states for Emergency Medical Technicians:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Hawaii |
540 |
0.98 |
0.85 |
$ 26.73 |
$ 55,600 |
| Alaska |
380 |
1.28 |
1.12 |
$ 24.68 |
$ 51,330 |
| Maryland |
2,400 |
0.94 |
0.82 |
$ 24.41 |
$ 50,770 |
| District of Columbia |
420 |
0.63 |
0.55 |
$ 23.32 |
$ 48,500 |
| Illinois |
8,000 |
1.42 |
1.24 |
$ 21.37 |
$ 44,460 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Emergency Medical Technicians:
| 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 |
12,090 |
1.39 |
1.22 |
$ 20.82 |
$ 43,310 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
5,400 |
1.28 |
1.11 |
$ 24.43 |
$ 50,820 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
5,350 |
0.94 |
0.82 |
$ 19.20 |
$ 39,930 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
3,790 |
1.43 |
1.25 |
$ 18.79 |
$ 39,070 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
2,950 |
1.14 |
1.00 |
$ 16.56 |
$ 34,440 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
2,920 |
1.13 |
0.98 |
$ 20.86 |
$ 43,390 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
2,850 |
1.27 |
1.11 |
$ 26.74 |
$ 55,620 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
2,350 |
0.81 |
0.71 |
$ 17.62 |
$ 36,640 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
2,290 |
0.64 |
0.56 |
$ 17.48 |
$ 36,370 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
1,890 |
1.24 |
1.08 |
$ 18.38 |
$ 38,230 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Emergency Medical Technicians:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Johnstown, PA |
240 |
5.06 |
4.42 |
$ 13.37 |
$ 27,810 |
| Rochester, MN |
510 |
4.37 |
3.81 |
$ 18.44 |
$ 38,350 |
| Ocean City, NJ |
160 |
4.12 |
3.60 |
$ 17.31 |
$ 36,000 |
| Watertown-Fort Drum, NY |
140 |
3.63 |
3.17 |
$ 15.19 |
$ 31,600 |
| Mansfield, OH |
160 |
3.45 |
3.01 |
$ 15.66 |
$ 32,560 |
| Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ |
390 |
3.32 |
2.90 |
$ 16.96 |
$ 35,280 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
630 |
3.30 |
2.88 |
$ 19.35 |
$ 40,260 |
| Greenville, NC |
240 |
3.25 |
2.83 |
$ 15.94 |
$ 33,160 |
| Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC |
440 |
3.04 |
2.65 |
$ 17.25 |
$ 35,890 |
| Terre Haute, IN |
190 |
2.98 |
2.60 |
$ 14.39 |
$ 29,930 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Emergency Medical Technicians:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Durham-Chapel Hill, NC |
270 |
0.86 |
0.75 |
$ 30.53 |
$ 63,500 |
| Coeur d'Alene, ID |
70 |
1.02 |
0.89 |
$ 28.37 |
$ 59,020 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI |
450 |
1.13 |
0.99 |
$ 28.26 |
$ 58,770 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
1,820 |
0.62 |
0.54 |
$ 26.99 |
$ 56,130 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
2,850 |
1.27 |
1.11 |
$ 26.74 |
$ 55,620 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
5,400 |
1.28 |
1.11 |
$ 24.43 |
$ 50,820 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
760 |
0.71 |
0.62 |
$ 24.42 |
$ 50,790 |
| Anchorage, AK |
190 |
1.17 |
1.02 |
$ 23.37 |
$ 48,620 |
| Barnstable Town, MA |
130 |
1.37 |
1.20 |
$ 23.32 |
$ 48,500 |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA |
270 |
1.07 |
0.93 |
$ 21.65 |
$ 45,040 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Emergency Medical Technicians:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Emergency Medical Technicians:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Emergency Medical Technicians:
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
