How are Delaware 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 Delaware?

The 90th percentile lands at $72,380. 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 $70,030.

Why is the BEA RPP for Delaware different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Delaware's overall index of 98.8 reflects rents 98.9, services 104.4, and goods 97.3.

Where does Delaware rank for Firefighter pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Delaware 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.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Delaware?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Delaware.

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

Most career firefighters in Delaware 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.

Paramedic dual-certification premium for Delaware firefighters?

Most Delaware fire departments respond to far more EMS calls than fire calls — roughly 70-80% medical response is typical. Departments add a paramedic-cert premium of 5-15% above firefighter base, reflecting the labor-market scarcity of cross-trained personnel. BLS aggregates all firefighters under SOC 33-2011 regardless of EMT/paramedic status; the actual Delaware median for paramedic-certified firefighters runs above the BLS figure shown on this page, while EMT-only firefighters cluster at or below it.

Delaware Firefighter Salary: BLS $48K Median, Real $49K (2026)

TL;DR

$48,060 is the BLS median wage for Firefighters in Delaware; $48,664 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
Bottom quartile $43,770, top quartile $70,030. The P90 ($72,380) is roughly 1.8× the P10 ($40,560).
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
Firefighter ranking: #32 on the BLS table, #39 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — Delaware

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$40,560	$41,070
P25 (lower quartile)	$43,770	$44,320
P50 (median)	$48,060	$48,664
P75 (upper quartile)	$70,030	$70,910
P90 (top tier)	$72,380	$73,290
Mean	$54,760	$55,448
Employment	450 Firefighters in Delaware

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Delaware index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	98.8
Goods	97.3
Services	104.4
Rents	98.9

Delaware's overall RPP (98.8) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$48,060	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$3,629	7.6% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,100	2.2–6.6% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$3,677	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$38,654	80.4% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$39,139	÷ (98.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.4% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $38,654 (80.4% of gross). After the 98.8 RPP, real take-home is $39,139.

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. Delaware sits at #32 on nominal pay and #39 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Delaware falls 7 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How are Delaware 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 Delaware?: The 90th percentile lands at $72,380. 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 $70,030.
Why is the BEA RPP for Delaware different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Delaware's overall index of 98.8 reflects rents 98.9, services 104.4, and goods 97.3.
Where does Delaware rank for Firefighter pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Delaware 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.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Delaware?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Delaware.
How does the 24/48 shift schedule distort BLS firefighter pay in Delaware?: Most career firefighters in Delaware 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.
Paramedic dual-certification premium for Delaware firefighters?: Most Delaware fire departments respond to far more EMS calls than fire calls — roughly 70-80% medical response is typical. Departments add a paramedic-cert premium of 5-15% above firefighter base, reflecting the labor-market scarcity of cross-trained personnel. BLS aggregates all firefighters under SOC 33-2011 regardless of EMT/paramedic status; the actual Delaware median for paramedic-certified firefighters runs above the BLS figure shown on this page, while EMT-only firefighters cluster at or below it.

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 Delaware 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.