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Median pay
$59,530
Median annual pay for Firefighter.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024
A public-service career where occupational risk and schedule matter as much as pay; injury data provide unusually concrete evidence for the tradeoff.
A public-service career where occupational risk and schedule matter as much as pay; injury data provide unusually concrete evidence for the tradeoff.
The measurable baseline is $59,530 median pay, 3.4% projected employment change from 2024 to 2034, and about 27,100 annual openings. Those figures establish the national baseline; the occupation-specific evidence on this page is what makes the decision more useful than a generic profile.
The national median-pay figure in the current ChooseField dataset is $59,530. The 2024 self-employed share is 0%, which matters because self-employment can make outcomes less uniform across workers. A national median is a benchmark, not a personal forecast: experience, geography, employer type, specialty, credentials, and hours can move actual compensation materially.
BLS data in the ChooseField corpus put 2024 employment at 344,900 and projected 2034 employment at 356,700. That corresponds to 3.4% projected growth over the decade. BLS projects about 27,100 openings per year, including growth and replacement demand. This distinction matters when people ask whether a field is oversaturated: growth measures whether the occupation itself is getting larger, while annual openings also reflect people retiring, changing occupations, or leaving roles that must be refilled.
BLS lists the typical entry education as Postsecondary nondegree award. On-the-job preparation is listed as Long-term on-the-job training. Treat this entry path like an investment: compare the time and cost required to enter with the pay, annual openings, and alternatives available at a similar training level.
Injuries are measurable and material. The headline figure is 53,575. Estimated municipal firefighter line-of-duty injuries in 2024. Source: NFPA (2024).
Fireground is the largest injury setting. The headline figure is 30%. Share of reported firefighter injuries occurring during fireground operations. Source: NFPA (2024).
Firefighting is a field where occupational risk belongs in the core decision. NFPA's injury estimates make that risk measurable rather than abstract. Pay and openings should be considered together with the physical demands of emergency response.
This field is a stronger fit if you accept the physical, schedule, and occupational-risk tradeoffs that come with public-safety work.
Before choosing Firefighter, compare it with Air Traffic Controller, Registered Nurse, HVAC Technician. The purpose is not to find a universal winner; it is to see how pay, training time, annual openings, work setting, and field-specific risks change when you move to an adjacent option.
A public-service career where occupational risk and schedule matter as much as pay; injury data provide unusually concrete evidence for the tradeoff. The measurable baseline is $59,530 median pay, 3.4% projected 2024–34 employment change, about 27,100 annual openings, and a typical entry path of Postsecondary nondegree award.
The national median in the current ChooseField dataset is $59,530. Treat that as a benchmark rather than an expected starting salary; actual compensation varies by experience, location, employer, specialty, credentials, and hours.
Firefighting is a field where occupational risk belongs in the core decision. NFPA's injury estimates make that risk measurable rather than abstract. Pay and openings should be considered together with the physical demands of emergency response.
Compare Firefighter with Air Traffic Controller, Registered Nurse on pay, training time, openings, working conditions, and occupation-specific evidence rather than relying on one score.
National pay and employment projections come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other sources are linked on their cards.