Firefighters — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$59,280
United States, 2025
Employment
345,990
United States, 2025
Typical education
Not recorded
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Control and extinguish fires or respond to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk. Duties may include fire prevention, emergency medical service, hazardous material response, search and rescue, and disaster assistance.
- O*NET code
- 33-2011.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- None
Typical tasks
- Rescue survivors from burning buildings, accident sites, and water hazards.
- Administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation to injured persons or provide emergency medical care such as basic or advanced life support.
- Dress with equipment such as fire-resistant clothing and breathing apparatus.
- Move toward the source of a fire, using knowledge of types of fires, construction design, building materials, and physical layout of properties.
- Drive and operate fire fighting vehicles and equipment.
- Respond to fire alarms and other calls for assistance, such as automobile and industrial accidents.
- Search to locate fire survivors.
- Operate pumps connected to high-pressure hoses.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$34,910
25th percentile
$44,490
75th percentile
$77,250
90th percentile
$101,040
Most important skills
- Coordination3.9
- Active Learning3.6
- Active Listening3.6
- Critical Thinking3.6
- Monitoring3.5
- Speaking3.5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.5
- Service Orientation3.5
- Social Perceptiveness3.1
- Complex Problem Solving3.1
- Reading Comprehension3.0
- Operation and Control3.0
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 14 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
14
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.6 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Monitoring | 3.5 | 3.5 | Not selected | 3.5 |
| Active Listening | 3.6 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Active Learning | 3.6 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Speaking | 3.5 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.5 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Service Orientation | 3.5 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.1 | 3.5 | Not selected | 3.5 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.0 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Operation and Control | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Time Management | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
Related careers
Supplemental
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Compare with FirefightersSupplemental
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Compare with FirefightersSupplemental
National median $78,620
Compare with FirefightersSupplemental
National median $61,560
Compare with FirefightersHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $152,100 | 1,330 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $113,700 | 3,450 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $106,420 | 14,960 | 2025 |
| Bellingham, WA | $101,130 | 320 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $101,090 | 3,760 | 2025 |
| NY | $100,960 | 12,950 | 2025 |
| Fort Collins, CO | $99,930 | 300 | 2025 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $98,050 | 7,200 | 2025 |
| Vallejo, CA | $95,950 | 330 | 2025 |
| Bremerton, WA | $95,910 | 290 | 2025 |
| WA | $94,520 | 7,560 | 2025 |
| Sacramento, CA | $94,080 | 2,590 | 2025 |
| Olympia, WA | $90,050 | 260 | 2025 |
| Rochester, NY | $89,120 | 730 | 2025 |
| Trenton, NJ | $88,090 | 340 | 2025 |
| Denver, CO | $87,980 | 3,010 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $87,400 | 310 | 2025 |
| Ames, IA | $86,010 | 60 | 2025 |
| Portland, OR | $85,170 | 1,730 | 2025 |
| CA | $85,120 | 31,470 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Firefighters to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.