Emergency Medical Technicians Salary: $53,239 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 177,980 emergency medical technicians nationally earn a mean of $53,239. Projections imply about 2.5% annual growth; CA accounts for about 16,950 jobs in our geographic extract.
Key Statistics
Emergency Medical Technicians: what the data shows
Common questions about emergency medical technicians careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a emergency medical technicians?
Emergency Medical Technicians is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 29-2042.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 177,980 workers.
How much does a emergency medical technicians make?
BLS national median annual wage: $41,340 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $53,239 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $38,386 |
| 25th percentile | $41,385 |
| Median (50th) | $46,921 |
| 75th percentile | $59,997 |
| 90th percentile | $78,713 |
What education do you need?
For Emergency Medical Technicians, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
Is emergency medical technicians in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 2.5% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 13.3%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 28.3%.
Current U.S. headcount: 177,980.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do emergency medical technicianss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 177,980 | 16.5% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 124,350 | 11.5% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 124,100 | 11.5% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | 87,680 | 8.1% |
| Other Ambulatory Health Care Services | 81,550 | 7.5% |
| Ambulance Services | 80,250 | 7.4% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Emergency Medical Technicians in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians | 12,080 | $34,330 |
| Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance | 211,000 | $48,880 |
| Personal Care Aides | — | — |
| Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other | 62,390 | $37,900 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Emergency Medical Technicians workforce.
Employment Over Time
177,980 Workforce in 2023
The Emergency Medical Technicians workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$53,239 Average Wage
In 2023, Emergency Medical Technicians earned an average of $53,239.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Salary distribution for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Employment Growth Projections
2.5% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
82,689 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 13.3%
93,665 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 28.3%
This occupation is projected to grow at 2.5% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Emergency Medical Technicians and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Emergency Medical Technicians employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Wage Trends by Industry
-12.7% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 16,950 employees, $53,152 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 3,310 employees, $52,319 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 2,520 employees, $59,450 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 2,350 employees, $46,836 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 1,710 employees, $49,921 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 1,540 employees, $46,449 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 1,130 employees, $59,782 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 750 employees, $80,757 avg wage
- Fresno MSA: 650 employees, $46,408 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 500 employees, $64,437 avg wage
- Vallejo MSA: 380 employees, $55,457 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Diversity
Demographic information on Emergency Medical Technicians in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Emergency Medical Technicians in 2023 was 177,980 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Emergency Medical Technicians in 2023 were Health Sciences, Biology, Chemistry.
Common majors for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Emergency Medical Technicians workers.
Education level distribution for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Skills
Emergency Medical Technicians need many skills, but most especially .
Required skills for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Emergency Medical Technicians include .
Knowledge areas required for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Emergency Medical Technicians include .
Required abilities for Emergency Medical Technicians.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Emergency Medical Technicians.
Daily Activities
Emergency Medical Technicians spend their time on activities such as .
Most important work activities for Emergency Medical Technicians.
About
Emergency Medical Technicians
The average yearly wage for Emergency Medical Technicians was $53,239 in 2023.
SOC Code
29-2042 - Emergency Medical Technicians
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Emergency Medical Technicians reports an average salary of $53,239.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 177,980 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 2.5%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.