Average EMT Salaries across the Country

[nfd2004]

A friend passed this information onto me and I thought it might be worth mentioning here.

Below is a list of AVERAGE EMT salaries across the Country as of September, 2021.

State---Mean Average Salary---Mean Hourly Salary
Alabama - $28,670 - $13.78
Alaska - $54,290 - $26.10
Arizona - $35,430 - $17.03
Arkansas - $28,770 - $13.83
California - $37,770 - $18.16
Colorado - $42,280 - $20.33
Connecticut - $46,320 - $22.27
Delaware - $39,140 - $18.82
Florida - $31,750 - $15.27
Georgia - $33,030 - $15.88
Hawaii - $46,680 - $23.89
Idaho - $37,360 - $17.96
Illinois - $41,840 - $20.12
Indiana - $33,540 - $16.12
Iowa - $33,850 - $16.27
Kansas - $29,590 - $14.23
Kentucky - $30,840 - $14.83
Maine - $33,470 - $16.09
Maryland - $41,320 - $19.86
Massachusetts - $39,660 - $19.07
Michigan - $31,260 - $15.03
Minnesota - $38,850 - $18.68
Mississippi - $35,330 - $16.99
Missouri - $34,170 - $16.43
Montana - $33,240 - $15.98
Nebraska - $31,970 - $15.37
Nevada - $37,400 - $17.98
New Hampshire - $38,030 - $18.29
New Jersey - $37,460 - $18.01
New Mexico - $34,250 - $16.47
New York - $41,140 - $19.78
North Dakota - $31,960 - $15.37
North Carolina - $34,150 - $16.42
Ohio - $31,070 - $14.94
Oklahoma - $29,200 - $14.08
Oregon - $39,170 - $18.83
Pennsylvania - $33,480 - $16.10
Rhode Island - $37,820 - $18.18
South Carolina - $32,970 - $15.85
South Dakota - $29,900 - $14.38
Tennessee - $35,850 - $17.24
Texas - $35,870 - $17.24
Utah - $33,890 - $16.29
Vermont - $35,840 - $17.23
Virginia - $33,310 - $16.01
Washington - $65,320 - $31.40
West Virginia - $30,870 - $14.84
Wisconsin - $30,850 - $14.83
Wyoming - $34,780 - $16.72

 

[AYoung]

$14.94 for an EMT in Ohio is HIGH for what I know it to be. I’m just outside of Cleveland And teach EMT and Medic on my days off.

 

[nfd2004]

$14.94 for an EMT in Ohio is HIGH for what I know it to be. I’m just outside of Cleveland And teach EMT and Medic on my days off.

AYoung, I think you make a very valid point in that the salaries include those of Firefighter/EMTs as well.
EMTs that also fight fires and are trained for Rescue situations salaries are much different from working a private ambulance service.

In checking for EMT salaries from one private contract ambulance here in Connecticut, the starting salary is only $11.33/hour.
That was taken from the web site "Indeed.com" which list various jobs being offered in the area.

Firefighter/EMT salaries working in the same area receive a much higher starting hourly rate.

 

[68jk09]

$14.94 for an EMT in Ohio is HIGH for what I know it to be. I’m just outside of Cleveland And teach EMT and Medic on my days off.

I don't know what EMT Instructors are paid today .....i remember back around the mid 1970s while in 108 i was also a NY State certified EMT Instructor & myself & others taught FDNY Members thru out The Job on our days off for $5.00 an hour. ...the Students attended on there own time for free.... The program got off to a good start with many Students graduating & having a big interest in it (even though there was no additional compensation for performing EMT duties on Runs except a free shoulder patch & Helmet sticker ) after a few years the job ceased to provide funding for
re-certifications & the program dwindled then disappeared .

 

[AYoung]

I don't know what EMT Instructors are paid today .....i remember back around the mid 1970s while in 108 i was also a NY State certified EMT Instructor & myself & others taught FDNY Members thru out The Job on our days off for $5.00 an hour. ...the Students attended on there own time for free.... The program got off to a good start with many Students graduating & having a big interest in it (even though there was no additional compensation for performing EMT duties on Runs except a free shoulder patch & Helmet sticker ) after a few years the job ceased to provide funding for
re-certifications & the program dwindled then disappeared .

I’m adjunct faculty for a community college so I do pretty good, right around $30/hr. Most of our EMT students are paying their own way. Medic is a mix of making their own way, working private EMS, and an occasional department sponsorship.

 

[memorymaster]

Now you know why EMS personnel jump ship at the earliest opportunity. Today you could work at Dollar General for that pay.

 

[nfd2004]

As I so often do, I tune in the local action on my scanner listening to the local FD.

In 40 plus years or so, I think I heard a mutual aid ambulance called three times. But last night, a mutual aid ambulance was requested.

It wasn't because there was a lot of activity going on but "my thoughts" were that starting pay of $11.33 an hour just doesn't cut it. Certainly not for the job EMTs do. They are exposed to injury, even deadly sickness these days.

I would also like to add that early on as EMTs became a part of the fire service, there were not many takers.
As Chief "68jk09" mentions, those that went to EMT school back then, did so all on their own time.

When I was hired to be a firefighter, I was told that I must become an EMT within one year. Three quarters of the training would be on my own time at a location outside of the firehouse if I wanted the job.
There were several other guys that followed but once the year was up and they passed their probie time, many of the guys gave up their EMT requirement.

It wasn't until an added annual incentive, plus the fact that each rig would require at least one EMT, which would give them a better chance of working a few extra hours overtime that things started to change.

Today, every member of the dept must be an EMT throughout their entire career, plus EMT training is conducted on the job for everyone.

 

[Lt. Q]

Jack I took that EMT class maybe about 1975, the information was great and the instructors were awesome. Don’t remember if you were one of my instructors or not but there was one that was in our proby class.

 

[skiLB]

Now you know why EMS personnel jump ship at the earliest opportunity. Today you could work at Dollar General for that pay.

so true

 

[fdny747]

EMS is NOT seen as a Career and it needs to be! We need good working conditions, Money, Benefits and a Retirement! We should be on par with a Fire and Police or at least close to it.

 

[memorymaster]

EMS is NOT seen as a Career and it needs to be! We need good working conditions, Money, Benefits and a Retirement! We should be on par with a Fire and Police or at least close to it.

I don't know if you were around in 1995, the pre-merger year when the "suits" came to each EMS station and told us about all the great things that they were going to do for us. No more sitting on street corners, no more deplorable stations, no more obsolete equipment, no more green and white uniforms, no more gazillion paperwork reports by the bosses and of course pay raises, benefits increases (Which the FD had no control over) and more. Well, today the units are still on those corners, some of the stations are from shanty town, the uniforms are blue, the paper work has increased, the pay is morbidly low. The equipment has gotten better, the job busier and more complex. Through it all I worked with many great professionals who despite the shortcomings went out into the streets and did the job as it was supposed to be done. NYC's Best!