What does the top of the Firefighter pay scale look like in Nebraska?

The 90th percentile lands at $69,400. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $66,220.

How many Firefighters does Nebraska employ?

BLS OES counts 1,060 Firefighters employed in Nebraska 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 Nebraska a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 90.3 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $61,760 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $68,403. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Firefighters comparing offers across regions.

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 Nebraska?

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 Nebraska.

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.

Paramedic dual-certification premium for Nebraska firefighters?

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

Nebraska Firefighter Salary: BLS $62K Median, Real $68K (2026)

TL;DR

Headline Firefighter pay in Nebraska is $61,760. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $68,403.
P25-P75 spread runs $50,420 to $66,220; P10 floor $45,120, P90 ceiling $69,400.
Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $6,643 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #13 of 51; nominal rank is #17.

Wage breakdown — Nebraska

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$45,120	$49,973
P25 (lower quartile)	$50,420	$55,844
P50 (median)	$61,760	$68,403
P75 (upper quartile)	$66,220	$73,343
P90 (top tier)	$69,400	$76,865
Mean	$58,960	$65,302
Employment	1,060 Firefighters in Nebraska

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Nebraska index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	90.3
Goods	96.5
Services	79.4
Rents	74.3

Nebraska sits below the national baseline (RPP 90.3), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 74.3.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$61,760	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$5,273	8.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,477	2.46–5.84% (graduated, 3.99% top by 2027)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$4,725	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$49,285	79.8% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$54,586	÷ (90.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $49,285 (79.8% of gross). After the 90.3 RPP, real take-home is $54,586.

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. Nebraska sits at #17 on nominal pay and #13 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Nebraska climbs 4 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

What does the top of the Firefighter pay scale look like in Nebraska?: The 90th percentile lands at $69,400. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $66,220.
How many Firefighters does Nebraska employ?: BLS OES counts 1,060 Firefighters employed in Nebraska 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 Nebraska a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 90.3 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $61,760 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $68,403. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Firefighters comparing offers across regions.
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 Nebraska?: 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 Nebraska.
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.
Paramedic dual-certification premium for Nebraska firefighters?: Most Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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.