How much does a Firefighter make in Virginia?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $58,300 for Firefighters in Virginia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $46,270 and the 75th-percentile is $69,650.

How many Firefighters does Virginia employ?

BLS OES counts 10,820 Firefighters employed in Virginia 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 Virginia 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. Virginia's overall index of 101.3 reflects rents 105.6, services 92.4, and goods 101.1.

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 Virginia?

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 Virginia.

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

Most career firefighters in Virginia 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 Virginia firefighters?

Most Virginia 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 Virginia 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 Virginia? $58K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

BLS reports Virginia Firefighter median pay at $58,300. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $57,534.
Cost adjustment is small — neither an arbitrage state nor a high-cost penalty.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $38,280 · P25 $46,270 · P75 $69,650 · P90 $78,220.
Firefighter ranking: #23 on the BLS table, #26 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — Virginia

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$38,280	$37,777
P25 (lower quartile)	$46,270	$45,662
P50 (median)	$58,300	$57,534
P75 (upper quartile)	$69,650	$68,735
P90 (top tier)	$78,220	$77,193
Mean	$58,510	$57,741
Employment	10,820 Firefighters in Virginia

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Virginia index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	101.3
Goods	101.1
Services	92.4
Rents	105.6

Virginia's overall RPP (101.3) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$58,300	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$4,858	8.3% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,606	2–5.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$4,460	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$46,376	79.5% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$45,767	÷ (101.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.5% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $46,376 (79.5% of gross). After the 101.3 RPP, real take-home is $45,767.

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. Virginia sits at #23 on nominal pay and #26 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Virginia falls 3 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Firefighter make in Virginia?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $58,300 for Firefighters in Virginia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $46,270 and the 75th-percentile is $69,650.
How many Firefighters does Virginia employ?: BLS OES counts 10,820 Firefighters employed in Virginia 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 Virginia 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. Virginia's overall index of 101.3 reflects rents 105.6, services 92.4, and goods 101.1.
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 Virginia?: 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 Virginia.
How does the 24/48 shift schedule distort BLS firefighter pay in Virginia?: Most career firefighters in Virginia 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 Virginia firefighters?: Most Virginia 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 Virginia 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 Virginia 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.