How are Alaska Firefighter salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

What does the top of the Firefighter pay scale look like in Alaska?

The 90th percentile lands at $87,940. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $75,530.

Where does Alaska rank for Firefighter pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Alaska ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

Is Alaska a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?

No — Alaska's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.

What are the limits of these Firefighter salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

How does the 24/48 shift schedule distort BLS firefighter pay in Alaska?

Most career firefighters in Alaska work a 24-hours-on, 48-hours-off rotation totaling roughly 56 hours per week — substantially more than the 40-hour assumption underlying many salary comparisons. BLS OEWS reports annual W-2 wages, which include the structurally elevated base from the longer schedule plus FLSA-mandated overtime above 53 hours/week. The headline number understates intensity: per-shift effective compensation looks high; per-hour-of-life-spent-at-the-station it's closer to a typical municipal worker's rate.

Volunteer / paid-on-call vs career firefighter pay in Alaska?

BLS captures career (full-time) firefighters under 33-2011; volunteer departments and paid-on-call firefighters are not represented in the OEWS wage figures. Roughly two-thirds of US fire departments are still volunteer or combination, concentrated in rural and suburban Alaska jurisdictions — those firefighters earn small per-call stipends, attendance pay, or LOSAP retirement credits rather than a wage. The BLS Alaska median therefore reflects only career departments and dramatically overstates 'firefighter pay' if interpreted as the population average.

Firefighter Pay in Alaska: $63K Median + Purchasing Power (2026)

TL;DR

Median Firefighter salary in Alaska: $63,220 nominal, $61,202 real (BEA RPP basis).
P25-P75 spread runs $42,790 to $75,530; P10 floor $31,600, P90 ceiling $87,940.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #21 of 51; nominal rank is #16.

Wage breakdown — Alaska

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$31,600	$30,591
P25 (lower quartile)	$42,790	$41,424
P50 (median)	$63,220	$61,202
P75 (upper quartile)	$75,530	$73,119
P90 (top tier)	$87,940	$85,133
Mean	$59,730	$57,824
Employment	1,040 Firefighters in Alaska

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Alaska index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	103.3
Goods	103.7
Services	113.3
Rents	96.7

Alaska's overall RPP (103.3) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Alaska (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$63,220	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$5,448	8.6% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no state income tax
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$4,836	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$52,935	83.7% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$51,246	÷ (103.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Alaska state-tax burden means for Firefighter take-home

Alaska levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $3,161 a year for a Firefighter at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After cost of living, real take-home is $51,246 — lower than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP exceeds 100.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $59,530 for Firefighters with mean pay of $63,890 and total employment of 332,240. Alaska sits at #16 on nominal pay and #21 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Alaska falls 5 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How are Alaska Firefighter salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
What does the top of the Firefighter pay scale look like in Alaska?: The 90th percentile lands at $87,940. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $75,530.
Where does Alaska rank for Firefighter pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Alaska ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
Is Alaska a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?: No — Alaska's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
What are the limits of these Firefighter salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
How does the 24/48 shift schedule distort BLS firefighter pay in Alaska?: Most career firefighters in Alaska work a 24-hours-on, 48-hours-off rotation totaling roughly 56 hours per week — substantially more than the 40-hour assumption underlying many salary comparisons. BLS OEWS reports annual W-2 wages, which include the structurally elevated base from the longer schedule plus FLSA-mandated overtime above 53 hours/week. The headline number understates intensity: per-shift effective compensation looks high; per-hour-of-life-spent-at-the-station it's closer to a typical municipal worker's rate.
Volunteer / paid-on-call vs career firefighter pay in Alaska?: BLS captures career (full-time) firefighters under 33-2011; volunteer departments and paid-on-call firefighters are not represented in the OEWS wage figures. Roughly two-thirds of US fire departments are still volunteer or combination, concentrated in rural and suburban Alaska jurisdictions — those firefighters earn small per-call stipends, attendance pay, or LOSAP retirement credits rather than a wage. The BLS Alaska median therefore reflects only career departments and dramatically overstates 'firefighter pay' if interpreted as the population average.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 33-2011, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Alaska Firefighter pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.