How much does a Firefighter make in Washington?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $93,490 for Firefighters in Washington as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $72,680 and the 75th-percentile is $103,640.

How are Washington 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.

How many Firefighters does Washington employ?

BLS OES counts 8,000 Firefighters employed in Washington in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Where does Washington rank for Firefighter pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Washington 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.

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

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

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

Most career firefighters in Washington 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.

Volunteer / paid-on-call vs career firefighter pay in Washington?

BLS captures career (full-time) firefighters under 33-2011; volunteer departments and paid-on-call firefighters are not represented in the OEWS wage figures. Roughly two-thirds of US fire departments are still volunteer or combination, concentrated in rural and suburban Washington jurisdictions — those firefighters earn small per-call stipends, attendance pay, or LOSAP retirement credits rather than a wage. The BLS Washington median therefore reflects only career departments and dramatically overstates 'firefighter pay' if interpreted as the population average.

How Much Do Firefighters Make in Washington? $93K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Firefighters in Washington earn a BLS median of $93,490, with real take-home of $86,269 after BEA RPP adjustment.
Nominal: #1/51 · Real: #1/51 — ranking shifts by 0 positions after RPP.
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
Bottom quartile $72,680, top quartile $103,640. The P90 ($118,460) is roughly 2.8× the P10 ($41,650).

Wage breakdown — Washington

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$41,650	$38,433
P25 (lower quartile)	$72,680	$67,067
P50 (median)	$93,490	$86,269
P75 (upper quartile)	$103,640	$95,635
P90 (top tier)	$118,460	$109,311
Mean	$87,240	$80,502
Employment	8,000 Firefighters in Washington

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Washington index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	108.4
Goods	106.9
Services	84.0
Rents	125.5

Washington is a high-cost state — RPP 108.4 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (125.5) and services (84.0).

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$93,490	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$11,815	12.6% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no state income tax (capital gains tax above $262K)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$7,152	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$74,523	79.7% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$68,767	÷ (108.4 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Washington levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $4,675 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 $68,767 — 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. Washington sits at #1 on nominal pay and #1 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 Washington?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $93,490 for Firefighters in Washington as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $72,680 and the 75th-percentile is $103,640.
How are Washington 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.
How many Firefighters does Washington employ?: BLS OES counts 8,000 Firefighters employed in Washington in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Where does Washington rank for Firefighter pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Washington 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.
Is Washington a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?: No — Washington's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
How does the 24/48 shift schedule distort BLS firefighter pay in Washington?: Most career firefighters in Washington 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.
Volunteer / paid-on-call vs career firefighter pay in Washington?: BLS captures career (full-time) firefighters under 33-2011; volunteer departments and paid-on-call firefighters are not represented in the OEWS wage figures. Roughly two-thirds of US fire departments are still volunteer or combination, concentrated in rural and suburban Washington jurisdictions — those firefighters earn small per-call stipends, attendance pay, or LOSAP retirement credits rather than a wage. The BLS Washington median therefore reflects only career departments and dramatically overstates 'firefighter pay' if interpreted as the population average.

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 Washington 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.