How much does a Firefighter make in North Carolina?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $37,250 for Firefighters in North Carolina as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $31,300 and the 75th-percentile is $48,860.

How are North Carolina 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.

Why is the BEA RPP for North Carolina 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. North Carolina's overall index of 94.4 reflects rents 80.8, services 83.6, and goods 96.8.

Where does North Carolina rank for Firefighter pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, North Carolina 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.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for North Carolina?

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 North Carolina.

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

Most career firefighters in North Carolina 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 North Carolina firefighters?

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

North Carolina Firefighter Salary: BLS $37K Median, Real $39K (2026)

TL;DR

North Carolina pays Firefighters a BLS median of $37,250 — the more useful number is $39,460, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
Bottom quartile $31,300, top quartile $48,860. The P90 ($64,140) is roughly 2.3× the P10 ($28,360).
Low BEA RPP (94.4) means the paycheck stretches further than the BLS number suggests; net lift roughly $2,210.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #49 of 51; nominal rank is #47.

Wage breakdown — North Carolina

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$28,360	$30,043
P25 (lower quartile)	$31,300	$33,157
P50 (median)	$37,250	$39,460
P75 (upper quartile)	$48,860	$51,759
P90 (top tier)	$64,140	$67,946
Mean	$42,450	$44,969
Employment	18,200 Firefighters in North Carolina

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	North Carolina index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	94.4
Goods	96.8
Services	83.6
Rents	80.8

North Carolina sits below the national baseline (RPP 94.4), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 80.8.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$37,250	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$2,332	6.3% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,041	4.25% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$2,850	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$31,027	83.3% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$32,868	÷ (94.4 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the North Carolina state-tax burden means for Firefighter take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 2.8% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $31,027 (83.3% of gross). After the 94.4 RPP, real take-home is $32,868.

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. North Carolina sits at #47 on nominal pay and #49 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, North Carolina falls 2 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Firefighter make in North Carolina?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $37,250 for Firefighters in North Carolina as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $31,300 and the 75th-percentile is $48,860.
How are North Carolina 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.
Why is the BEA RPP for North Carolina 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. North Carolina's overall index of 94.4 reflects rents 80.8, services 83.6, and goods 96.8.
Where does North Carolina rank for Firefighter pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, North Carolina 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.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for North Carolina?: 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 North Carolina.
How does the 24/48 shift schedule distort BLS firefighter pay in North Carolina?: Most career firefighters in North Carolina 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 North Carolina firefighters?: Most North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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.