Firefighters Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $46K, rent takes 36.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,183/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,000/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new firefighters typically earn — is $31K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,851/month.

Local pay runs 22% below the national median — $46K here vs. $59K nationally.

East Tennessee nonmetropolitan area pays $46K median vs. the U.S. average of $59K — that’s -22%.

The median is $46,090 a year, that works out to about $22 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $30,850, and experienced firefighters can clear $64,280. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,256/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,183/month, which eats 36.3% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

East Tennessee nonmetropolitan area has a Regional Price Parity of 100 (100 is the national average). That's right at the national average. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median firefighters salary is worth about $46,090 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.