How much does a Firefighter make in Georgia?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $45,970 for Firefighters in Georgia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $37,360 and the 75th-percentile is $54,380.

How are Georgia 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.

Why is the BEA RPP for Georgia 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. Georgia's overall index of 96.5 reflects rents 88.3, services 92.3, and goods 97.7.

Where does Georgia rank for Firefighter pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Georgia 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.

How wide is the wage spread in Georgia?

P10 to P90 spans $33,290 to $61,530. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

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

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

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

2026 Firefighter Salary — Georgia ($46K BLS, RPP-Adjusted Real Wage)

TL;DR

Firefighters in Georgia earn a BLS median of $45,970, with real take-home of $47,640 after BEA RPP adjustment.
Nominal: #40/51 · Real: #42/51 — ranking shifts by 2 positions after RPP.
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
Bottom quartile $37,360, top quartile $54,380. The P90 ($61,530) is roughly 1.8× the P10 ($33,290).

Wage breakdown — Georgia

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$33,290	$34,500
P25 (lower quartile)	$37,360	$38,717
P50 (median)	$45,970	$47,640
P75 (upper quartile)	$54,380	$56,356
P90 (top tier)	$61,530	$63,766
Mean	$47,340	$49,060
Employment	11,660 Firefighters in Georgia

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Georgia index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	96.5
Goods	97.7
Services	92.3
Rents	88.3

Georgia's overall RPP (96.5) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$45,970	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$3,378	7.3% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,763	5.19% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$3,517	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$37,312	81.2% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$38,668	÷ (96.5 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.8% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $37,312 (81.2% of gross). After the 96.5 RPP, real take-home is $38,668.

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. Georgia sits at #40 on nominal pay and #42 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Georgia falls 2 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Firefighter make in Georgia?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $45,970 for Firefighters in Georgia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $37,360 and the 75th-percentile is $54,380.
How are Georgia 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.
Why is the BEA RPP for Georgia 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. Georgia's overall index of 96.5 reflects rents 88.3, services 92.3, and goods 97.7.
Where does Georgia rank for Firefighter pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Georgia 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.
How wide is the wage spread in Georgia?: P10 to P90 spans $33,290 to $61,530. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Is Georgia a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?: No — Georgia's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

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 Georgia 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.