Highest-paying Cities for Firefighters

The top 100 highest paying cities for firefighters (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of firefighters in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $103,460, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California is the highest paying city for firefighters. It is followed by Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California (average annual salary $103,460). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of firefighters in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Firefighters

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$103,460	$50,880	1,330
2	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$103,460	$51,360	400
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$100,820	$66,390	3,420
4	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$95,220	$64,270	1,700
5	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$91,800	$29,130	2,070
6	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$86,560	$46,380	1,260
7	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$86,070	$57,300	9,060
8	Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado	$86,060	$45,750	340
9	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$85,510	$54,310	3,770
10	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$85,220	$38,450	1,450
11	Bremerton-Silverdale, Washington	$83,120	$49,380	260
12	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$82,130	$47,320	2,800
13	Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey	$82,130	$56,940	270
14	Olympia, Washington	$81,780	$49,290	250
15	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$81,140	$60,030	7,200
16	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$81,120	$62,020	7,660
17	Tacoma, Washington	$81,070	$52,720	1,080
18	Sheboygan, Wisconsin	$80,820	$33,830	60
19	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington	$80,700	$40,580	130
20	Bellingham, Washington	$80,460	$57,050	310
21	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$80,220	$49,670	2,380
22	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$79,720	$53,730	3,610
23	Decatur, Illinois	$79,020	$45,320	140
24	Modesto, California	$78,830	$46,090	420
25	Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, Washington	$78,630	$37,740	180
26	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$78,590	$54,500	8,960
27	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$78,120	$49,590	15,120
28	Spokane, Washington	$77,760	$30,140	730
29	Waco, Texas	$77,080	$38,190	200
30	Medford, Oregon	$76,650	$32,840	170
31	New Haven, Connecticut	$76,640	$59,890	510
32	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$76,580	$48,000	1,050
33	Waterbury, Connecticut	$76,080	$59,860	170
34	Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington	$75,760	$32,190	230
35	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$75,250	$53,780	1,860
36	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$74,400	$36,010	13,150
37	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$73,620	$36,410	260
38	Merced, California	$73,050	$50,810	170
39	Rochester, New York	$71,840	$51,390	1,130
40	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$71,480	$46,010	490
41	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$71,440	$29,310	10,110
42	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$71,430	$42,270	630
43	Salinas, California	$71,240	$42,270	700
44	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$71,170	$39,250	1,680
45	Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, California	$70,680	$49,280	510
46	North Central Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$70,320	$56,020	70
47	Camden, New Jersey	$70,070	$28,590	1,000
48	Danbury, Connecticut	$69,300	$54,550	150
49	Eugene-Springfield, Oregon	$68,990	$36,590	370
50	Salem, Oregon	$68,830	$35,710	320
51	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$68,550	$48,720	250
52	Boulder, Colorado	$68,430	$46,720	330
53	West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Florida	$68,170	$42,280	1,990
54	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$67,790	$37,780	3,460
55	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$67,790	$43,230	760
56	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$67,480	$42,270	680
57	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pennsylvania	$67,310	$32,770	300
58	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$67,230	$47,790	5,590
59	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$67,050	$54,870	520
60	Missoula, Montana	$67,010	$51,210	70
61	Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, New Jersey	$66,900	$41,370	40
62	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$66,780	$49,440	1,020
63	Hawaii-Maui-Kauai nonmetropolitan area, Hawaii	$66,670	$51,190	490
64	Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Florida	$66,590	$41,340	2,160
65	Corvallis, Oregon	$66,530	$37,880	80
66	Southwestern Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$66,340	$24,070	210
67	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York	$66,280	$41,100	590
68	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$66,180	$41,510	2,090
69	Reading, Pennsylvania	$66,110	$24,450	130
70	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$66,000	$45,490	650
71	Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida	$65,930	$45,180	3,110
72	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$65,810	$42,660	2,040
73	Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey	$65,760	$37,350	900
74	Billings, Montana	$65,530	$20,080	180
75	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$65,460	$40,760	2,590
76	Evansville, Kentucky	$65,450	$29,440	330
77	Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Massachusetts	$65,390	$39,540	240
78	Stockton, California	$65,340	$44,520	500
79	Fort Wayne, Indiana	$65,280	$40,570	610
80	Bakersfield-Delano, California	$65,150	$46,210	700
81	Bloomington, Indiana	$65,140	$49,700	210
82	Syracuse, New York	$65,010	$45,180	350
83	Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska	$64,690	$37,680	730
84	Longview, Washington	$64,630	$33,160	50
85	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$64,560	$45,550	3,320
86	Kingston, New York	$64,550	$50,670	50
87	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$64,510	$49,080	8,310
88	Anchorage, Alaska	$64,430	$24,110	410
89	Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$64,400	$36,120	200
90	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$64,290	$46,310	5,220
91	Bend, Oregon	$64,160	$40,910	110
92	Northcentral Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$64,100	$47,820	370
93	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$64,080	$31,200	390
94	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$64,050	$44,390	3,060
95	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York	$64,040	$51,850	590
96	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	$63,910	$29,520	1,510
97	Muncie, Indiana	$63,830	$50,700	130
98	St Louis, Missouri	$63,530	$29,350	3,530
99	Fresno, California	$63,520	$44,390	860
100	Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, New York	$63,420	$48,160	350

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for firefighters.