How much does a Firefighter make in Oklahoma?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $47,270 for Firefighters in Oklahoma as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $36,550 and the 75th-percentile is $61,720.

How many Firefighters does Oklahoma employ?

BLS OES counts 4,110 Firefighters employed in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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. Oklahoma's overall index of 88.7 reflects rents 65.0, services 80.2, and goods 93.3.

Is Oklahoma a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.7 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $47,270 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $53,304. 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.

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 Oklahoma firefighters?

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

How Much Do Firefighters Make in Oklahoma? $47K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Firefighters in Oklahoma earn a BLS median of $47,270, with real take-home of $53,304 after BEA RPP adjustment.
Bottom quartile $36,550, top quartile $61,720. The P90 ($76,700) is roughly 2.6× the P10 ($28,990).
After the cost-of-living adjustment, take-home rises by $6,034 versus the BLS median — purchasing-power arbitrage.
Nominal: #38/51 · Real: #31/51 — ranking shifts by 7 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — Oklahoma

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$28,990	$32,691
P25 (lower quartile)	$36,550	$41,216
P50 (median)	$47,270	$53,304
P75 (upper quartile)	$61,720	$69,599
P90 (top tier)	$76,700	$86,491
Mean	$50,090	$56,484
Employment	4,110 Firefighters in Oklahoma

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Oklahoma index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	88.7
Goods	93.3
Services	80.2
Rents	65.0

Oklahoma sits below the national baseline (RPP 88.7), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 65.0.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$47,270	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$3,534	7.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,755	0.25–4.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$3,616	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$38,364	81.2% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$43,261	÷ (88.7 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.7% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $38,364 (81.2% of gross). After the 88.7 RPP, real take-home is $43,261.

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. Oklahoma sits at #38 on nominal pay and #31 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Oklahoma climbs 7 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Firefighter make in Oklahoma?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $47,270 for Firefighters in Oklahoma as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $36,550 and the 75th-percentile is $61,720.
How many Firefighters does Oklahoma employ?: BLS OES counts 4,110 Firefighters employed in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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. Oklahoma's overall index of 88.7 reflects rents 65.0, services 80.2, and goods 93.3.
Is Oklahoma a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 88.7 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $47,270 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $53,304. 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.
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 Oklahoma firefighters?: Most Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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.