How much does a Firefighter make in Idaho?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $53,860 for Firefighters in Idaho as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $39,070 and the 75th-percentile is $72,510.

How are Idaho 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 Idaho 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. Idaho's overall index of 92.2 reflects rents 86.9, services 68.1, and goods 95.9.

Where does Idaho rank for Firefighter pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Idaho 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.

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.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Idaho?

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 Idaho.

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.

Idaho Firefighter Salary: BLS $54K Median, Real $58K (2026)

TL;DR

Firefighters in Idaho earn a BLS median of $53,860, with real take-home of $58,394 after BEA RPP adjustment.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $31,210 · P25 $39,070 · P75 $72,510 · P90 $91,990.
After the cost-of-living adjustment, take-home rises by $4,534 versus the BLS median — purchasing-power arbitrage.
Firefighter ranking: #27 on the BLS table, #24 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — Idaho

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$31,210	$33,837
P25 (lower quartile)	$39,070	$42,359
P50 (median)	$53,860	$58,394
P75 (upper quartile)	$72,510	$78,614
P90 (top tier)	$91,990	$99,733
Mean	$56,370	$61,115
Employment	2,100 Firefighters in Idaho

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Idaho index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	92.2
Goods	95.9
Services	68.1
Rents	86.9

Idaho sits below the national baseline (RPP 92.2), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 86.9.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$53,860	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$4,325	8.0% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,210	5.8% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$4,120	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$43,204	80.2% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$46,841	÷ (92.2 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.1% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $43,204 (80.2% of gross). After the 92.2 RPP, real take-home is $46,841.

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. Idaho sits at #27 on nominal pay and #24 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Idaho climbs 3 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Firefighter make in Idaho?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $53,860 for Firefighters in Idaho as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $39,070 and the 75th-percentile is $72,510.
How are Idaho 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 Idaho 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. Idaho's overall index of 92.2 reflects rents 86.9, services 68.1, and goods 95.9.
Where does Idaho rank for Firefighter pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Idaho 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.
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.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Idaho?: 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 Idaho.
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 Idaho 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.