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

The 90th percentile lands at $83,770. 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 $68,010.

How many Firefighters does New Hampshire employ?

BLS OES counts 2,880 Firefighters employed in New Hampshire in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Why is the BEA RPP for New Hampshire 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. New Hampshire's overall index of 105.4 reflects rents 114.5, services 156.2, and goods 100.0.

Is New Hampshire a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?

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

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.

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 New Hampshire?

Most career firefighters in New Hampshire 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.

New Hampshire Firefighter Salary: BLS $57K Median, Real $54K (2026)

TL;DR

Headline Firefighter pay in New Hampshire is $57,030. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $54,112.
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $34,770 · P25 $39,740 · P75 $68,010 · P90 $83,770.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #29 of 51; nominal rank is #24.

Wage breakdown — New Hampshire

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$34,770	$32,991
P25 (lower quartile)	$39,740	$37,706
P50 (median)	$57,030	$54,112
P75 (upper quartile)	$68,010	$64,530
P90 (top tier)	$83,770	$79,483
Mean	$55,800	$52,945
Employment	2,880 Firefighters in New Hampshire

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	New Hampshire index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	105.4
Goods	100.0
Services	156.2
Rents	114.5

New Hampshire is a high-cost state — RPP 105.4 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (114.5) and services (156.2).

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$57,030	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$4,706	8.3% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no tax on wage income (interest/dividends only, repealed 2027)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$4,363	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$47,962	84.1% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$45,507	÷ (105.4 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the New Hampshire state-tax burden means for Firefighter take-home

New Hampshire levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $2,852 a year for a Firefighter at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After cost of living, real take-home is $45,507 — lower than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP exceeds 100.

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. New Hampshire sits at #24 on nominal pay and #29 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, New Hampshire falls 5 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

What does the top of the Firefighter pay scale look like in New Hampshire?: The 90th percentile lands at $83,770. 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 $68,010.
How many Firefighters does New Hampshire employ?: BLS OES counts 2,880 Firefighters employed in New Hampshire in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Why is the BEA RPP for New Hampshire 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. New Hampshire's overall index of 105.4 reflects rents 114.5, services 156.2, and goods 100.0.
Is New Hampshire a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?: No — New Hampshire's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
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.
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 New Hampshire?: Most career firefighters in New Hampshire 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.

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 New Hampshire 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.