Job Numbers and Growth
About 293,000 firefighters can be found working in the US. A very low unemployment level has been the case recently. Employees without jobs were about 3%.
Area Job Conditions
Finding employees is easiest in Palm Coast (Florida), Prescott (Arizona), and Kankakee (Illinois), and by comparison more challenging in Scranton (Pennsylvania), Harrisburg (Pennsylvania), and Nassau (New York).
The pay is best in Oakland (California), Vallejo (California), and Newark (New Jersey) and worst in Monroe (Louisiana), Wheeling (West Virginia), and Topeka (Kansas).
Training and Education
You'll generally want long-term on-the-job training for this career path. Of current employees, 18% graduated from college with degrees. Some 59% of firefighters attened college but did not go on to get a bachelor's degree. A high school education was sufficient for 23% of workers. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.
Part-Time Work and Self-Employment
Firefighters working part-time accounted for 1% of those employed in 2008.
Firefighters by Metropolitan Area (city and its surroundings)
In the table below, a Job Density near 0% means the area has an average number of people in this occupation, for its population. A higher or lower Job Density (e.g., +22% or -45%) tells you there are that many more or fewer workers of that type there than in the average US metro area. So, the higher the number, the more common the occupation.
Alabama
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Anniston $37,000 180 +132% Birmingham $38,000 1,400 +42% Huntsville 370 -3%
Alaska
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Anchorage $48,000 410 +41% Fairbanks $44,000 110 +113%
Arizona
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Flagstaff $39,000 190 +107% Kingman $35,000 440 +420% Phoenix $45,000 3,160 -11% Prescott $38,000 590 +464% Tucson $40,000 870 +26% Yuma $36,000 180 +77%
Arkansas
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Fayetteville $37,000 580 +61% Fort Smith $30,000 380 +82% Hot Springs $30,000 100 +69% Little Rock $38,000 860 +36% Pine Bluff $35,000 140 +166%
California
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Bakersfield $53,000 320 -35% Chico $38,000 300 +154% El Centro $39,000 140 +66% Fresno $42,000 380 -39% Modesto $48,000 460 +55% Napa $42,000 210 +94% Oakland $86,000 1,500 -23% Redding $33,000 280 +149% Riverside $44,000 3,260 +34% Sacramento $48,000 2,610 +55% Salinas $54,000 570 +105% San Diego $57,000 1,820 -28% San Jose $68,000 960 -45% San Luis Obispo $54,000 390 +124% Santa Ana $61,000 1,760 -39% Santa Cruz $45,000 210 +38% Santa Rosa $45,000 680 +103% Stockton $58,000 420 +7% Vallejo $78,000 250 +15% Visalia $42,000 230 -4% Yuba City $55,000 160 +156%
Colorado
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Boulder $50,000 310 +7% Colorado Springs 490 +6% Denver $61,000 1,930 -19% Fort Collins $51,000 280 +31%
Connecticut
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Bridgeport $55,000 780 -5% Hartford $56,000 850 -22% New Haven $54,000 470 -9% Norwich $45,000 230 +4% Waterbury $35,000 440 +280%
Delaware
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Wilmington $51,000 370 -40%
District of Columbia
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Washington $55,000 3,970 -10%
Florida
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Cape Coral $52,000 890 +132% Deltona $37,000 570 +104% Fort Lauderdale $56,000 2,420 +74% Fort Walton Beach $38,000 300 +131% Jacksonville 1,470 +29% Lakeland $35,000 330 -7% Naples $53,000 310 +45% Orlando $37,000 3,030 +52% Palm Bay $43,000 910 +154% Palm Coast $25,000 120 +523% Panama City $29,000 250 +113% Sarasota $42,000 870 +79% Tallahassee $40,000 340 +16% Tampa $41,000 1,990 -14% West Palm Beach $60,000 2,110 +108%
Georgia
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Albany $31,000 230 +125% Atlanta $38,000 4,390 -3% Augusta $34,000 480 +28% Dalton $30,000 140 +6% Savannah $36,000 500 +86%
Hawaii
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Honolulu $49,000 1,180 +44%
Idaho
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Boise $49,000 380 -24%
Illinois
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Bloomington 120 +0% Champaign $49,000 260 +59% Chicago $56,000 12,090 +66% Kankakee $42,000 320 +432% Rockford $50,000 450 +64% Springfield $35,000 350 +93%
Indiana
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Anderson $39,000 170 +165% Bloomington $36,000 260 +123% Elkhart $37,000 240 +4% Evansville 360 +14% Gary $39,000 530 +2% Indianapolis $47,000 2,100 +24% Kokomo $36,000 130 +130% South Bend $39,000 310 +27% Terre Haute $38,000 270 +128%
Iowa
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Davenport $36,000 360 +8% Des Moines $33,000 380 -38%
Kansas
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Topeka $19,000 120 -38% Wichita $34,000 630 +11%
Kentucky
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Elizabethtown $32,000 160 +127% Lexington $27,000 720 +61% Louisville $36,000 1,200 +3%
Louisiana
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Baton Rouge $32,000 300 -56% Lake Charles $25,000 250 +66% Monroe $22,000 320 +138% New Orleans $29,000 1,360 +42% Shreveport $38,000 690 +116%
Maine
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Bangor $30,000 230 +113% Portland $34,000 580 +57%
Maryland
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Bethesda $54,000 1,630 +51% Hagerstown $41,000 120 -31%
Massachusetts
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Barnstable Town $46,000 720 +309% Boston $55,000 5,850 +79% Brockton $54,000 190 +23% Framingham $46,000 450 +53% Haverhill $43,000 340 +157% Lawrence $43,000 210 +120% Leominster $45,000 280 +240% Lowell $54,000 420 +95% New Bedford $42,000 390 +257% Springfield $47,000 1,200 +115% Taunton $38,000 260 +244% Worcester $44,000 1,070 +134%
Michigan
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Ann Arbor $50,000 260 -13% Battle Creek $37,000 100 +25% Detroit $48,000 1,400 +4% Flint $27,000 120 -51% Grand Rapids $47,000 460 -35% Holland $40,000 100 -44% Lansing $40,000 290 -18% Muskegon $31,000 180 +78% Niles $34,000 120 +15% Saginaw $39,000 70 -46% Warren $46,000 1,580 -28%
Minnesota
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Duluth $34,000 440 +94% Minneapolis $35,000 3,110 -9% St Cloud $30,000 240 +34%
Mississippi
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Gulfport $37,000 550 +187% Jackson $35,000 370 -21% Pascagoula $27,000 200 +160%
Missouri
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Columbia $33,000 70 -50% Joplin $29,000 140 +1% Kansas City $44,000 2,300 +18% Springfield $24,000 400 +12% St Joseph $30,000 130 +58% St Louis $51,000 3,050 +19%
Montana
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Great Falls $44,000 70 +28% Missoula $45,000 170 +98%
Nebraska
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Omaha $54,000 600 -31%
Nevada
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Las Vegas $59,000 1,360 -22% Reno $48,000 400 +5%
New Hampshire
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Nashua $43,000 280 +13% Portsmouth $45,000 130 +38%
New Jersey
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Atlantic City $68,000 390 +47% Camden $60,000 480 -52% Edison $61,000 860 -56% Newark $77,000 1,540 -20% Trenton $55,000 530 +35% Vineland $44,000 70 -27%
New Mexico
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Albuquerque $34,000 850 +16% Las Cruces $34,000 120 +17%
New York
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Albany $49,000 470 -43% Binghamton 150 -20% Nassau $62,000 100 -96% Poughkeepsie $55,000 360 -18% Rochester $53,000 620 -34% Syracuse $45,000 390 -32% Utica $47,000 120 -47%
North Carolina
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Asheville $29,000 540 +67% Burlington $35,000 140 +42% Charlotte $36,000 2,500 +49% Durham $35,000 810 +60% Fayetteville $31,000 520 +140% Greensboro $31,000 700 +1% Hickory $27,000 480 +63% Raleigh $34,000 990 +3% Wilmington $31,000 410 +58% Winston Salem $27,000 460 +16%
North Dakota
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Fargo $42,000 120 -42% Grand Forks $39,000 110 +39%
Ohio
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Akron $41,000 1,110 +76% Canton $31,000 900 +186% Cincinnati $39,000 3,760 +91% Cleveland $42,000 4,620 +129% Columbus $47,000 3,900 +120% Dayton $35,000 1,590 +117% Lima $35,000 160 +85% Springfield $31,000 310 +302% Toledo $37,000 510 -12% Youngstown $35,000 680 +58%
Oklahoma
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Oklahoma City $50,000 1,580 +48% Tulsa $40,000 1,290 +57%
Oregon
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Bend $57,000 180 +55% Eugene $47,000 200 -26% Medford $52,000 200 +37% Portland $56,000 1,640 -17% Salem $49,000 200 -26%
Pennsylvania
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Allentown $44,000 350 -45% Harrisburg $35,000 110 -81% Philadelphia $52,000 2,530 -29% Pittsburgh $48,000 1,120 -48% Scranton $44,000 200 -58%
Rhode Island
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Providence $48,000 2,000 +87%
South Carolina
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Charleston $30,000 1,070 +98% Columbia $37,000 380 -42% Florence $25,000 120 -17% Greenville $32,000 660 +16% Myrtle Beach $28,000 390 +85% Spartanburg $28,000 310 +42% Sumter $26,000 80 +45%
Tennessee
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Clarksville $38,000 220 +71% Jackson $34,000 130 +36% Johnson City $33,000 210 +65% Kingsport $32,000 160 -21% Knoxville $36,000 520 -17% Memphis $41,000 1,170 0% Nashville $46,000 1,610 +11%
Texas
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Beaumont 370 +30% Brownsville $37,000 360 +64% College Station $45,000 220 +66% Dallas $54,000 5,180 +29% Fort Worth $45,000 1,950 +19% Houston $45,000 5,770 +17% Killeen $38,000 420 +99% Longview $41,000 280 +72% Mcallen $34,000 320 -20% San Antonio $47,000 2,400 +50% Sherman $36,000 170 +170% Texarkana $42,000 200 +122% Wichita Falls $46,000 290 +202%
Utah
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Logan 70 -6% Ogden $34,000 400 +10% Provo $32,000 320 +7% Salt Lake City $42,000 960 -19% St George $27,000 70 -12%
Vermont
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Burlington $35,000 140 -28%
Virginia
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Charlottesville $36,000 150 -8% Richmond $47,000 1,320 +17% Roanoke $39,000 490 +72% Virginia Beach $42,000 2,880 +102%
Washington
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Bellingham $54,000 170 +24% Bremerton $54,000 500 +250% Kennewick $61,000 290 +87% Longview $63,000 80 +56% Mount Vernon $50,000 130 +79% Olympia $61,000 310 +91% Seattle $66,000 3,220 +18% Spokane $60,000 520 +36% Tacoma $60,000 1,060 +113% Wenatchee $42,000 220 +244% Yakima $45,000 240 +74%
West Virginia
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Huntington $25,000 150 -25% Parkersburg $42,000 170 +44% Wheeling $23,000 170 +60%
Wisconsin
City and Area Median Salary Employees Job Density Appleton $36,000 250 +24% Eau Claire $31,000 180 +37% Green Bay $38,000 510 +69% Janesville $35,000 130 +19% La Crosse $42,000 150 +29% Madison $37,000 710 +14% Milwaukee $45,000 2,490 +55% Oshkosh $29,000 170 +17% Wausau $31,000 220 +94%
Thanks to CityTownInfo.com for this firefighter schools and jobs info.
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