Every day, firefighters in communities across the US risk their lives responding to emergencies. And in the age of worsening wildfires driven by the climate crisis, their jobs have become more important than ever.

So how does pay correlate to such a key job? As we’ll see below, firefighter wages fluctuate dramatically across the 50 states, with some states recording six-figure earnings for the highest earners, while others in the 10th percentile of earners barely scratch the $25,000 mark.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics provides data on firefighter wages. Using the most recent data from May 2024, Business Insider identified the median annual salaries of firefighters in every US state.

We also identified the overall salary range of firefighters in each state, ranging from the low-end 10th percentile to the high-end 90th percentile of salaries.

Chris Lake, the director of collective bargaining for the International Association of Firefighters, told Business Insider that many factors contribute to pay differences from state to state. For starters, every state has differences in cost of living, housing prices, taxes, and other factors, so salaries will often reflect these characteristics.

Business Insider

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VIDEOS: Traffic in Manteo faced major delays Wednesday morning following a large Roanoke Island condo fire on North Bay Club Drive. The fire broke out around 6 a.m. in one building of condominiums at Shallowbag Bay Marina.

The Dare County Sheriff’s Office said both lanes of travel in the area of McDonald’s on U.S. 64 were closed as a result of the incident. All lanes of travel have since reopened.

The massive fire destroyed several units in a four-story condo building at Shallowbag Bay Marina. The large fire could be seen from a great distance on Roanoke Island. One man saw the fire from a distance and tried to help those at the scene early Wednesday morning.

“I was here about 6:15 (a.m.), and I could see the flames before I got here,” said Charles McKenny. “When I pulled in, I saw that building two was on fire — pretty much the whole thing engulfed. So I just ran around trying to get everybody accounted for that I knew that lived there.”

WNCN-TV CBS 17 Goldsboro

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A head-on crash involving two passenger vehicles and a Jefferson Transit bus shut down Highway 104 in both directions Tuesday evening, leaving one person dead and several others injured, according to East Jefferson Fire Rescue and the Washington State Patrol (WSP).

East Jefferson Fire Rescue said it responded at about 6:51 p.m. to the reported collision on Beaver Valley Road at Highway 104. Crews arriving at the scene found multiple injured people. A 17-year-old girl was pronounced dead, and a 29-year-old man who was a passenger on the bus was critically injured and airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, the WSP said.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

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Spokane County Fire District 9 has officially secured licensing to use front-line ambulances to provide emergency transport without requiring clients to pay American Medical Response fees. District 9 shared the announcement on March 3 and said it secured its Trauma Verified Ambulance Transport License from the Washington Department of Health.

The district added that it took delivery of three new ambulances and hired new personnel for the added service, including new firefighter paramedics and firefighter EMTs. The new staff began their academy this week and emergency transport services are expected to start July 1, 2026, the District 9 wrote in its announcement.

KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

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A black SUV burst into flames near the north end of China Lake Park on Tuesday afternoon, the Tacoma Fire Department shared on X. The vehicle was experiencing technical trouble near the 1800 block of South Shirley Street at 2:27 p.m., the post read. The driver pulled over and escaped as the car caught fire. No injuries were reported. The Tacoma Police Department is investigating, the post said.

The News Tribune

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