How are Massachusetts 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.

How many Firefighters does Massachusetts employ?

BLS OES counts 11,910 Firefighters employed in Massachusetts in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

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

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

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Massachusetts?

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 Massachusetts.

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

Most career firefighters in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts firefighters?

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

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

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 Massachusetts jurisdictions — those firefighters earn small per-call stipends, attendance pay, or LOSAP retirement credits rather than a wage. The BLS Massachusetts median therefore reflects only career departments and dramatically overstates 'firefighter pay' if interpreted as the population average.

Massachusetts Firefighter Salary: BLS $73K Median, Real $68K (2026)

TL;DR

Median Firefighter salary in Massachusetts: $73,110 nominal, $67,899 real (BEA RPP basis).
Bottom quartile $61,930, top quartile $80,480. The P90 ($98,610) is roughly 2.1× the P10 ($47,330).
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 #15 of 51; nominal rank is #10.

Wage breakdown — Massachusetts

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$47,330	$43,956
P25 (lower quartile)	$61,930	$57,516
P50 (median)	$73,110	$67,899
P75 (upper quartile)	$80,480	$74,743
P90 (top tier)	$98,610	$91,581
Mean	$73,130	$67,917
Employment	11,910 Firefighters in Massachusetts

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Massachusetts index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	107.7
Goods	100.0
Services	166.1
Rents	130.1

Massachusetts is a high-cost state — RPP 107.7 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (130.1) and services (166.1).

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$73,110	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$7,331	10.0% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,656	5% flat 2026 (4% surtax above $1M)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$5,593	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$56,530	77.3% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$52,501	÷ (107.7 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $56,530 (77.3% of gross). After the 107.7 RPP, real take-home is $52,501.

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. Massachusetts sits at #10 on nominal pay and #15 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Massachusetts falls 5 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How are Massachusetts 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.
How many Firefighters does Massachusetts employ?: BLS OES counts 11,910 Firefighters employed in Massachusetts in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Is Massachusetts a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?: No — Massachusetts's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Massachusetts?: 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 Massachusetts.
How does the 24/48 shift schedule distort BLS firefighter pay in Massachusetts?: Most career firefighters in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts firefighters?: Most Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts median for paramedic-certified firefighters runs above the BLS figure shown on this page, while EMT-only firefighters cluster at or below it.
Volunteer / paid-on-call vs career firefighter pay in Massachusetts?: 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 Massachusetts jurisdictions — those firefighters earn small per-call stipends, attendance pay, or LOSAP retirement credits rather than a wage. The BLS Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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.