How much does a Firefighter make in Mississippi?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $36,980 for Firefighters in Mississippi as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $29,810 and the 75th-percentile is $45,010.

How are Mississippi 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.

Where does Mississippi rank for Firefighter pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Mississippi 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.

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.

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

Most career firefighters in Mississippi 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 Mississippi firefighters?

Most Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi?

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

Mississippi Firefighter Salary: BLS $37K Median, Real $43K (2026)

TL;DR

Mississippi pays Firefighters a BLS median of $36,980 — the more useful number is $42,608, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
Firefighter ranking: #49 on the BLS table, #47 once cost of living is in.
After the cost-of-living adjustment, take-home rises by $5,628 versus the BLS median — purchasing-power arbitrage.
Quartile range $29,810 (bottom 25%) to $45,010 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $27,070 to $54,030.

Wage breakdown — Mississippi

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$27,070	$31,190
P25 (lower quartile)	$29,810	$34,346
P50 (median)	$36,980	$42,608
P75 (upper quartile)	$45,010	$51,860
P90 (top tier)	$54,030	$62,252
Mean	$38,560	$44,428
Employment	2,630 Firefighters in Mississippi

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Mississippi index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	86.8
Goods	94.4
Services	83.5
Rents	54.9

Mississippi sits below the national baseline (RPP 86.8), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 54.9.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$36,980	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$2,300	6.2% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$987	4.0% above $10K (2026, HB 1733)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$2,829	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$30,864	83.5% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$35,561	÷ (86.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Mississippi 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 $30,864 (83.5% of gross). After the 86.8 RPP, real take-home is $35,561.

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. Mississippi sits at #49 on nominal pay and #47 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Mississippi climbs 2 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Firefighter make in Mississippi?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $36,980 for Firefighters in Mississippi as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $29,810 and the 75th-percentile is $45,010.
How are Mississippi 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.
Where does Mississippi rank for Firefighter pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Mississippi 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.
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.
How does the 24/48 shift schedule distort BLS firefighter pay in Mississippi?: Most career firefighters in Mississippi 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 Mississippi firefighters?: Most Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi?: 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 Mississippi jurisdictions — those firefighters earn small per-call stipends, attendance pay, or LOSAP retirement credits rather than a wage. The BLS Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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.