• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023

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.

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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)
315,460	0.8 %	$ 29.03	$ 60,390	0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for Firefighters:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 15.19	$ 19.34	$ 27.46	$ 36.21	$ 45.06
Annual Wage (2)	$ 31,600	$ 40,230	$ 57,120	$ 75,320	$ 93,720

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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)	276,260	5.01	$ 29.93	$ 62,250
Other Support Services	18,800	5.76	$ 18.12	$ 37,690
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)	9,800	0.46	$ 25.21	$ 52,440
Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation)	7,410	0.35	$ 28.71	$ 59,720
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	540	0.16	$ 22.01	$ 45,780

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	18,800	5.76	$ 18.12	$ 37,690
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)	276,260	5.01	$ 29.93	$ 62,250
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)	9,800	0.46	$ 25.21	$ 52,440
Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation)	7,410	0.35	$ 28.71	$ 59,720
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	540	0.16	$ 22.01	$ 45,780

Top paying industries for Firefighters:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing	70	0.07	$ 52.58	$ 109,370
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	70	0.02	$ 45.99	$ 95,650
Support Activities for Mining	(8)	(8)	$ 35.20	$ 73,220
Scientific Research and Development Services	130	0.01	$ 34.92	$ 72,630
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	240	0.05	$ 34.39	$ 71,520

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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	28,570	2.11	1.01	$ 28.42	$ 59,120
California	27,750	1.55	0.74	$ 42.26	$ 87,890
Florida	22,130	2.31	1.11	$ 29.19	$ 60,720
Ohio	17,320	3.17	1.52	$ 27.21	$ 56,610
North Carolina	16,970	3.54	1.70	$ 19.20	$ 39,940

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	2,540	3.76	1.81	$ 25.58	$ 53,210
Maine	2,300	3.70	1.78	$ 22.53	$ 46,870
Alaska	1,130	3.63	1.75	$ 27.84	$ 57,910
North Carolina	16,970	3.54	1.70	$ 19.20	$ 39,940
Rhode Island	1,730	3.54	1.70	$ 31.65	$ 65,840

Top paying states for Firefighters:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	27,750	1.55	0.74	$ 42.26	$ 87,890
New Jersey	5,530	1.32	0.63	$ 40.79	$ 84,850
Washington	6,660	1.90	0.92	$ 40.21	$ 83,630
New York	10,190	1.08	0.52	$ 38.92	$ 80,950
Illinois	14,950	2.49	1.20	$ 36.35	$ 75,610

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)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	11,570	2.57	1.24	$ 39.71	$ 82,600
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	10,950	1.15	0.56	$ 41.85	$ 87,060
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	8,280	3.00	1.44	$ 36.55	$ 76,030
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	7,820	1.97	0.95	$ 31.03	$ 64,540
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	7,380	2.39	1.15	$ 28.33	$ 58,930
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	6,440	2.03	0.98	$ 27.15	$ 56,480
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	5,990	0.97	0.47	$ 48.53	$ 100,950
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	5,950	2.11	1.02	$ 22.23	$ 46,250
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	5,640	2.07	1.00	$ 39.38	$ 81,910
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	4,370	1.91	0.92	$ 27.43	$ 57,060

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	920	7.06	3.40	$ 19.74	$ 41,060
Hinesville, GA	130	6.54	3.15	$ 21.72	$ 45,180
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC	520	6.51	3.13	$ 25.42	$ 52,880
Prescott, AZ	450	6.44	3.10	$ 25.08	$ 52,160
Jacksonville, NC	330	6.34	3.05	$ 19.26	$ 40,060
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ	340	6.26	3.01	$ 23.52	$ 48,910
Leominster-Gardner, MA	310	6.06	2.92	$ 29.45	$ 61,250
Dover-Durham, NH-ME	300	5.97	2.87	$ 25.07	$ 52,140
Gadsden, AL	190	5.92	2.85	$ 15.55	$ 32,340
Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ	200	5.91	2.85	$ 21.96	$ 45,670