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The national median salary for Firefighters is $59,280 per year ($28.50/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $44,491 and $77,251 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $101,046 per year. There are approximately 345,990 firefighters employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
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.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+3.4%
About as fast as average
Annual openings
27K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
345K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
4% from new growth96% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Long-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999300
303K
$59,850
Other Support Services
NAICS 561900
19K
$37,520
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999200
13K
$64,980
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999100
7K
$63,270
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services
NAICS 621900
670
$34,850
Wage range across top 5 industries: $34,850 to $64,980 (86% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$16.79
$34,923
P25
$21.39
$44,491
P50MEDIAN
$28.50
$59,280
P75
$37.14
$77,251
P90
$48.58
$101,046
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · other sector
Active
Openings Rate
3.4%
Quits Rate
2.0%
The labor market rebounded in March: hires jumped to 5.6M (+655K) and separations rose to 5.4M (+356K), both more than offsetting February's drop. Job openings held at 6.9M. Quits ticked to 2.0%.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average firefighters salary?
The national median salary for Firefighters is $59,280 per year ($28.50/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $44,491 and $77,251 annually.
How much do top-earning firefighters make?
The 90th percentile salary for Firefighters is $101,046 per year ($48.58/hr). The 75th percentile is $77,251 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for firefighters?
Entry-level Firefighters (10th percentile) earn approximately $34,923 per year ($16.79/hr). The 25th percentile is $44,491 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.