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Salary · EMT · United States

EMT salary: $44,470 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Oct 27, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$44,470median ($21.38/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for emergency medical technicians in the United States was $44,470 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $34,130 and the top 10% earned more than $62,500. That median is 0.9 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was Hawaii ($66,410).

Data Government data groups this job as Emergency Medical Technicians (O*NET-SOC 29-2042.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

10th percentile
$34,130
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$37,960
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$50,100
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$62,500
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

EMT salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 51 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. Hawaii$66,410
  2. Alaska$57,440
  3. New Jersey$53,610
  4. Washington$52,690
  5. Rhode Island$51,290
Most people employed
  1. California21,880
  2. New York14,840
  3. Texas12,770
  4. Pennsylvania10,160
  5. Illinois7,840
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
Hawaii$66,410$51,140–$84,620560
Alaska$57,440$44,400–$81,150310
New Jersey$53,610$45,550–$64,7406,120
Washington$52,690$37,290–$60,9602,940
Rhode Island$51,290$39,360–$61,160430
Connecticut$50,640$40,160–$59,6102,190
Massachusetts$50,230$40,140–$69,8304,550
Oregon$49,270$37,600–$63,4301,970
New York$48,400$39,890–$69,21014,840
Maryland$48,100$39,960–$85,2903,400
Minnesota$48,090$31,340–$59,2203,160
Wyoming$47,070$30,480–$53,930400
Delaware$46,790$39,060–$57,660950
New Hampshire$46,790$37,320–$59,6701,010
District of Columbia$46,650$39,310–$73,670370
California$46,380$38,740–$78,15021,880
Maine$46,340$38,210–$58,1001,110
Colorado$45,750$38,370–$58,3203,060
Vermont$45,600$36,770–$57,700790
Georgia$45,550$33,910–$52,6006,260
Virginia$45,420$36,540–$59,1804,490
North Carolina$44,250$35,190–$59,7506,680
Pennsylvania$43,310$34,480–$54,37010,160
Wisconsin$43,060$33,550–$60,9103,930
Indiana$42,740$36,170–$50,6404,160
Illinois$42,260$36,420–$135,4907,840
Missouri$42,160$34,390–$58,0902,800
Nebraska$41,710$35,060–$68,670540
Iowa$40,660$35,600–$60,0801,510
South Carolina$40,370$31,590–$49,2104,010
Tennessee$40,330$29,720–$59,3703,860
Ohio$40,220$34,940–$53,9605,560
Florida$39,870$34,120–$59,0006,060
Michigan$39,870$35,360–$49,6204,230
North Dakota$39,670$31,890–$54,100760
Arizona$39,500$33,860–$50,7903,970
Utah$38,930$31,410–$48,2401,280
Idaho$38,840$27,180–$51,140780
Alabama$37,810$28,620–$51,1602,020
Nevada$37,560$29,060–$59,0001,530
New Mexico$37,550$32,370–$55,5001,260
Texas$37,260$30,320–$52,16012,770
Kentucky$36,800$29,800–$49,9502,770
South Dakota$36,800$31,130–$48,460600
Mississippi$36,630$26,760–$48,2901,390
Arkansas$36,230$28,370–$49,9101,120
Montana$36,140$27,280–$46,310860
Louisiana$35,870$27,390–$46,4602,450
Kansas$35,780$28,560–$53,7101,510
West Virginia$34,360$29,120–$45,350900
Oklahoma$34,170$27,840–$45,6302,410
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. Urban Honolulu, HI$67,050
  2. Trenton-Princeton, NJ$56,430
  3. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$55,700
  4. Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT$54,990
  5. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$54,650
  6. Wilmington, NC$53,850
  7. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$53,820
  8. New Haven, CT$53,440
  9. Vineland, NJ$52,890
  10. Waterbury-Shelton, CT$52,440
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Anesthesiologist Assistant (BLS: Physician Assistants)$135,880
  2. Registered Nurse$97,550
  3. Respiratory Therapist$82,280
  4. LPN$64,400
  5. Paramedic$60,600
  6. EMT$44,470
  7. CNA$42,260
Negotiation script builder

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Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.

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