How much does a Firefighter make in New Jersey?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $87,660 for Firefighters in New Jersey as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $62,570 and the 75th-percentile is $115,550.

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

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 108.9 for New Jersey), the real-wage equivalent is $80,466 — what the $87,660 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $57,435 to $106,067.

How many Firefighters does New Jersey employ?

BLS OES counts 6,590 Firefighters employed in New Jersey 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 New Jersey a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?

No — New Jersey'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 New Jersey?

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 New Jersey.

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 Jersey?

Most career firefighters in New Jersey 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 Jersey Firefighter Salary: BLS $88K Median, Real $80K (2026)

TL;DR

Firefighters in New Jersey earn a BLS median of $87,660, with real take-home of $80,466 after BEA RPP adjustment.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
Quartile range $62,570 (bottom 25%) to $115,550 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $47,090 to $124,980.
Nominal: #3/51 · Real: #3/51 — ranking shifts by 0 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — New Jersey

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$47,090	$43,225
P25 (lower quartile)	$62,570	$57,435
P50 (median)	$87,660	$80,466
P75 (upper quartile)	$115,550	$106,067
P90 (top tier)	$124,980	$114,723
Mean	$87,710	$80,511
Employment	6,590 Firefighters in New Jersey

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	New Jersey index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	108.9
Goods	105.8
Services	114.8
Rents	134.1

New Jersey is a high-cost state — RPP 108.9 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (134.1) and services (114.8).

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$87,660	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$10,532	12.0% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,458	1.4–10.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,706	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$66,964	76.4% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$61,468	÷ (108.9 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.9% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $66,964 (76.4% of gross). After the 108.9 RPP, real take-home is $61,468.

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 Jersey sits at #3 on nominal pay and #3 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. Nominal and real ranking are the same — cost of living and pay scale together.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Firefighter make in New Jersey?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $87,660 for Firefighters in New Jersey as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $62,570 and the 75th-percentile is $115,550.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Firefighter salary in New Jersey?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 108.9 for New Jersey), the real-wage equivalent is $80,466 — what the $87,660 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $57,435 to $106,067.
How many Firefighters does New Jersey employ?: BLS OES counts 6,590 Firefighters employed in New Jersey 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 New Jersey a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?: No — New Jersey'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 New Jersey?: 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 New Jersey.
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 Jersey?: Most career firefighters in New Jersey 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 Jersey 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.