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

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 93.2 for Wisconsin), the real-wage equivalent is $51,180 — what the $47,710 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $39,455 to $66,370.

What does the top of the Firefighter pay scale look like in Wisconsin?

The 90th percentile lands at $77,960. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $61,870.

How many Firefighters does Wisconsin employ?

BLS OES counts 8,010 Firefighters employed in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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. Wisconsin's overall index of 93.2 reflects rents 78.3, services 89.5, and goods 94.3.

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

Yes — the BEA RPP of 93.2 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $47,710 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $51,180. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Firefighters comparing offers across regions.

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.

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

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 Wisconsin jurisdictions — those firefighters earn small per-call stipends, attendance pay, or LOSAP retirement credits rather than a wage. The BLS Wisconsin median therefore reflects only career departments and dramatically overstates 'firefighter pay' if interpreted as the population average.

Wisconsin Firefighter Salary: BLS $48K Median, Real $51K (2026)

TL;DR

Median Firefighter salary in Wisconsin: $47,710 nominal, $51,180 real (BEA RPP basis).
Bottom quartile $36,780, top quartile $61,870. The P90 ($77,960) is roughly 2.5× the P10 ($31,200).
After the cost-of-living adjustment, take-home rises by $3,470 versus the BLS median — purchasing-power arbitrage.
Firefighter ranking: #33 on the BLS table, #36 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — Wisconsin

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$31,200	$33,469
P25 (lower quartile)	$36,780	$39,455
P50 (median)	$47,710	$51,180
P75 (upper quartile)	$61,870	$66,370
P90 (top tier)	$77,960	$83,630
Mean	$51,840	$55,610
Employment	8,010 Firefighters in Wisconsin

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Wisconsin index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	93.2
Goods	94.3
Services	89.5
Rents	78.3

Wisconsin sits below the national baseline (RPP 93.2), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 78.3.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter)	$47,710	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$3,587	7.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,441	3.5–7.65% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$3,650	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$39,032	81.8% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$41,871	÷ (93.2 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.0% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $39,032 (81.8% of gross). After the 93.2 RPP, real take-home is $41,871.

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. Wisconsin sits at #33 on nominal pay and #36 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Wisconsin falls 3 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Firefighter salary in Wisconsin?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 93.2 for Wisconsin), the real-wage equivalent is $51,180 — what the $47,710 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $39,455 to $66,370.
What does the top of the Firefighter pay scale look like in Wisconsin?: The 90th percentile lands at $77,960. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $61,870.
How many Firefighters does Wisconsin employ?: BLS OES counts 8,010 Firefighters employed in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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. Wisconsin's overall index of 93.2 reflects rents 78.3, services 89.5, and goods 94.3.
Is Wisconsin a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Firefighters?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 93.2 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $47,710 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $51,180. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Firefighters comparing offers across regions.
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.
Volunteer / paid-on-call vs career firefighter pay in Wisconsin?: 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 Wisconsin jurisdictions — those firefighters earn small per-call stipends, attendance pay, or LOSAP retirement credits rather than a wage. The BLS Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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.