Protective Service Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Occupation-level safety SOC 33-2011

Firefighters

Occupation-specific BLS fatality and injury rates set the reading order for Firefighters, then wages beside peers such as First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives, Parking Enforcement Workers, Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists, Transit and Railroad Police.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Firefighters: First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives ($106K) , Parking Enforcement Workers ($47K) , Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists ($57K) , Transit and Railroad Police ($90K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Firefighters publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 33-2011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Rescue survivors from burning buildings, accident sites, and water hazards
  2. 2. Dress with equipment such as fire-resistant clothing and breathing apparatus
  3. 3. Assess fires and situations and report conditions to superiors to receive instructions, using two-way radios
  4. 4. Move toward the source of a fire, using knowledge of types of fires, construction design, building materials, and physical layout of prop…
  5. 5. Respond to fire alarms and other calls for assistance, such as automobile and industrial accidents
  6. 6. Create openings in buildings for ventilation or entrance, using axes, chisels, crowbars, electric saws, or core cutters
  7. 7. Drive and operate fire fighting vehicles and equipment
  8. 8. Inspect fire sites after flames have been extinguished to ensure that there is no further danger
  9. 9. Position and climb ladders to gain access to upper levels of buildings, or to rescue individuals from burning structures
  10. 10. Select and attach hose nozzles, depending on fire type, and direct streams of water or chemicals onto fires
  11. 11. Operate pumps connected to high-pressure hoses
  12. 12. Maintain contact with fire dispatchers at all times to notify them of the need for additional firefighters and supplies, or to detail any…

Firefighters: O*NET ranks Critical Thinking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 33-2011 - lead skill Critical Thinking at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Public Safety and Security. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Critical Thinking 3.9
  2. 2. Coordination 3.6
  3. 3. Service Orientation 3.6
  4. 4. Judgment and Decision Making 3.6
  5. 5. Active Listening 3.5
  6. 6. Speaking 3.5
  7. 7. Active Learning 3.5
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.5

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Public Safety and Security 4.5
  2. 2. Customer and Personal Service 4.2
  3. 3. Education and Training 4.1
  4. 4. Building and Construction 4.0
  5. 5. English Language 3.9
  6. 6. Mechanical 3.8
Occupation safety grade
B
Safe
Transparent derived index from BLS CFOI/SOII, not an official BLS rating · formula
National median still $59,280/yr
$59K
National median
↑ +3%
Growth 2024-2034
27,100
Annual openings
345,990
Estimated US jobs
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives
Highest-pay peer · $106K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Postsecondary nondegree award

Top Paying States for Firefighters

1. Illinois $78,380
2. New York $100,960
3. Pennsylvania $73,460
4. Colorado $74,170
5. California $85,120
6. Maryland $73,810
7. Connecticut $77,630
8. New Jersey $84,130
9. District of Columbia $75,870
10. Washington $94,520

Other Protective Service Occupations titles

  1. 1. Parking Enforcement Workers $46,730
  2. 2. Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists $56,870
  3. 3. First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives $106,040
  4. 4. Transit and Railroad Police $90,230
  5. 5. First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers $77,970
  6. 6. Detectives and Criminal Investigators $93,790

Firefighters carries an occupation-specific WageDex safety grade of B from BLS CFOI/SOII rates. The national OEWS median is $59,280 inside Protective Service Occupations (SOC 33-2011).

Employment Projections expect +3% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 27,100 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Illinois at $78,380. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives at $106,040. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Firefighters pay-rank #11 in Protective Service Occupations

Firefighters sits at pay-rank #11 of 24 detailed Protective Service Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 33-2011 · national median $59,280 · middle third of Protective Service Occupations (#11/24). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Firefighters salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 33-2011

Illinois · top state for Firefighters

$78K published median

New York · #2 state pay

$101K · behind Illinois

First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives

Highest-pay peer vs Firefighters · $106K

Parking Enforcement Workers

Lower-pay peer beside Firefighters · $47K

Compare Firefighters

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Firefighters with another occupation →

Safety and risk next reads

Safest Occupations

Roles with the strongest published safety grades

Firefighters full wage map

State and metro pay after the safety lead

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Firefighters mid-table among Protective Service Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #11 of 24 detailed Protective Service Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Correctional Officers and Jailers ($59K), Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists ($57K), Bailiffs ($57K), First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers ($56K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do firefighters do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Firefighters. Leading ones include: Rescue survivors from burning buildings, accident sites, and water hazards; Dress with equipment such as fire-resistant clothing and breathing apparatus; Assess fires and situations and report conditions to superiors to receive instructions, using two-way radios; Move toward the source of a fire, using knowledge of types of fires, construction design, building materials, and physical layout of prop…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for firefighters? ▼
For SOC 33-2011, O*NET importance scores lead with Critical Thinking (3.9), Coordination (3.6), Service Orientation (3.6), Judgment and Decision Making (3.6). Knowledge areas emphasize Public Safety and Security, Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Firefighters? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $59,280 as the national median for Firefighters. The published 10th-90th range is $34,910 to $101,040. Beside First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives ($106,040), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Firefighters? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Firefighters is +3%. Projected annual openings: about 27,100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Firefighters? ▼
BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Firefighters. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Firefighters? ▼
Illinois ($78,380), New York ($100,960), Pennsylvania ($73,460) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Firefighters card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 33-2011. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Firefighters. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics