Firefighters

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

311k

Average Age

38.4

Estimated Job Growth

6.05%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$73,256

Average Male Salary

$73,978

Average Female Salary

$57,829

About

Firefighters are most often employed by the Justice, public order, & safety activities industry. The average yearly wage for Firefighters was $73,256 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Firefighters by wage are School psychologists, Agricultural & food scientists, and Facilities managers.

Firefighters are part of the Protective service occupations, along with Firstline supervisors of correctional officers, Firstline supervisors of police & detectives, Firstline supervisors of fire fighting & prevention workers, Miscellaneous first-line supervisors, protective service workers, Firefighters, and 13 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Firefighters are Tottenville, Great Kills & Annadale PUMA, NY, Ashburn, Washington Heights, Morgan Park & Beverly PUMA, IL, and St. Mary's & Calvert Counties PUMA, MD. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Firefighters are Ashburn, Washington Heights, Morgan Park & Beverly PUMA, IL, Tottenville, Great Kills & Annadale PUMA, NY, and Del Norte, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas & Siskiyou Counties PUMA, CA.

Photo by DVIDSHUB

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Firefighters and on wages and locations for those in the field. Justice, public order, & safety activities is the industry that employs the most Firefighters, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Firefighters, by average wage, is Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals. Firefighters are paid most in Palos Verdes Peninsula PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in Ashburn, Washington Heights, Morgan Park & Beverly PUMA, IL.

Yearly Wage

$73,256

AVERAGE SALARY

± $1,859

In 2020, Firefighters earned an average of $73,256, $17,302 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Agricultural & food scientists make somewhat more than Firefighters while School psychologists make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Firefighters as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.274

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Firefighters had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.274, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Firefighters (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Firefighters.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Firefighters

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Firefighters.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Firefighters, by number of employees, are Justice, public order, & safety activities , National security & international affairs, Executive offices & legislative bodies, Forestry except logging, U. S. Navy, Administration of environmental quality & housing programs, Support activities for agriculture & forestry, Administration of economic programs & space research, Services incidental to transportation, Investigation & security services, and U. S. Air Force.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Firefighters, by average wage, are Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals, Petroleum refining, and Aircraft & parts manufacturing.

Industries by Share

311k

2020 Workforce

± 13,672

3.41%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 6.07%

The number of people employed as Firefighters has been growing at a rate of 3.41%, from 300,542 people in 2019 to 310,781 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Firefighters employed by various industries. Justice, public order, & safety activities employs the largest share of Firefighters at 91.2%, followed by National security & international affairs with 1.54% and Executive offices & legislative bodies with 1.39%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Firefighters in the US. The average age of male Firefighters in the workforce is 38.5 and of female Firefighters is 36.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Firefighters is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

297k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 13,364

13.9k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,894

95.5% of Firefighters are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Firefighters.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Firefighters

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

77.3% of Firefighters are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 6.91% of Firefighters, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Firefighters.

Age by Sex

38.5

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.479

36.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.28

The median age of Firefighters is 38.4, and Male employees are generally 1.8 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Firefighters from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Firefighters is Business but a relatively high number of Firefighters hold a major in Protective Services.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Firefighters from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Firefighters need many skills, but most especially Coordination, Monitoring, and Critical Thinking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Firefighters need more than the average amount of Repairing, Equipment Maintenance, and Equipment Selection.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Projections

Projections on job growth for Firefighters from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Firefighters are expected to see a growth of 6.05% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow more than the national average.

Job Growth

6.05%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.71%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Firefighters. This profession is expected to grow more than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.