How much does a Firefighter make in Iowa?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $55,190 for Firefighters in Iowa as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $43,430 and the 75th-percentile is $65,240.

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Firefighter salary in Iowa?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 88.8 for Iowa), the real-wage equivalent is $62,173 — what the $55,190 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $48,925 to $73,494.

How many Firefighters does Iowa employ?

BLS OES counts 2,050 Firefighters employed in Iowa in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Where does Iowa rank for Firefighter pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Iowa 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 Iowa?

P10 to P90 spans $34,970 to $87,840. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

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

Most career firefighters in Iowa 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 Iowa firefighters?

Most Iowa 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 Iowa median for paramedic-certified firefighters runs above the BLS figure shown on this page, while EMT-only firefighters cluster at or below it.

Firefighter Pay in Iowa: $55K Median + Purchasing Power (2026)

TL;DR

Iowa pays Firefighters a BLS median of $55,190 — the more useful number is $62,173, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
Quartile range $43,430 (bottom 25%) to $65,240 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $34,970 to $87,840.
Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $6,983 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #20 of 51; nominal rank is #26.

Wage breakdown — Iowa

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$34,970	$39,394
P25 (lower quartile)	$43,430	$48,925
P50 (median)	$55,190	$62,173
P75 (upper quartile)	$65,240	$73,494
P90 (top tier)	$87,840	$98,953
Mean	$57,440	$64,707
Employment	2,050 Firefighters in Iowa

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Iowa index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	88.8
Goods	96.6
Services	87.3
Rents	66.0

Iowa sits below the national baseline (RPP 88.8), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 66.0.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$55,190	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$4,485	8.1% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,499	3.8% flat (2026, SF 2417 fully phased)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$4,222	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$44,984	81.5% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$50,676	÷ (88.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 2.7% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $44,984 (81.5% of gross). After the 88.8 RPP, real take-home is $50,676.

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. Iowa sits at #26 on nominal pay and #20 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Iowa climbs 6 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Firefighter make in Iowa?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $55,190 for Firefighters in Iowa as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $43,430 and the 75th-percentile is $65,240.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Firefighter salary in Iowa?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 88.8 for Iowa), the real-wage equivalent is $62,173 — what the $55,190 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $48,925 to $73,494.
How many Firefighters does Iowa employ?: BLS OES counts 2,050 Firefighters employed in Iowa in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Where does Iowa rank for Firefighter pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Iowa 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 Iowa?: P10 to P90 spans $34,970 to $87,840. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
How does the 24/48 shift schedule distort BLS firefighter pay in Iowa?: Most career firefighters in Iowa 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 Iowa firefighters?: Most Iowa 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 Iowa 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 Iowa 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.