Paramedics Salary: $76,494 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 99,530 paramedics nationally earn a mean of $76,494. Employment in the series shown rose about 13% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 7.5% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Paramedics: what the data shows
Common questions about paramedics careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a paramedics?
Paramedics is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 29-2043.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 99,530 workers.
What does a paramedics do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Assisting and Caring for Others, Documenting/Recording Information, Getting Information, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Performing General Physical Activities, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a paramedics make?
BLS national median annual wage: $58,410 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $76,494 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $50,414 |
| 25th percentile | $62,576 |
| Median (50th) | $74,142 |
| 75th percentile | $87,248 |
| 90th percentile | $104,310 |
What education do you need?
For Paramedics, 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.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Coordination, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, Active Listening, and knowledge areas including Psychology, Customer and Personal Service, Medicine and Dentistry, English Language. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is paramedics in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 7.5% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 43.8%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 106.8%.
Current U.S. headcount: 99,530.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do paramedicss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 99,530 | 16.3% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 60,140 | 9.8% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 56,910 | 9.3% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 42,620 | 7.0% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | 41,710 | 6.8% |
| Local Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) | 41,510 | 6.8% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Paramedics in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Paramedics workforce.
Employment Over Time
99,530 Workforce in 2023
The Paramedics workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Paramedics.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$76,494 Average Wage
In 2023, Paramedics earned an average of $76,494.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Paramedics.
Salary distribution for Paramedics.
Employment Growth Projections
7.5% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
33,189 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 43.8%
47,726 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 106.8%
This occupation is projected to grow at 7.5% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Paramedics.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Paramedics and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Paramedics employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Paramedics.
Wage Trends by Industry
-14.9% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Paramedics.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Paramedics.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- TX: 8,560 employees, $55,590 avg wage
- FL: 6,530 employees, $62,040 avg wage
- CA: 6,090 employees, $74,470 avg wage
- NY: 5,820 employees, $69,010 avg wage
- NC: 5,330 employees, $54,210 avg wage
- IL: 4,680 employees, $68,130 avg wage
- OH: 4,090 employees, $50,430 avg wage
- PA: 4,070 employees, $59,510 avg wage
- GA: 3,600 employees, $54,750 avg wage
- TN: 3,320 employees, $57,880 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Paramedics.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 3,750 employees, $76,600 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 2,880 employees, $81,550 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 2,050 employees, $57,380 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 1,690 employees, $58,910 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 1,650 employees, $61,350 avg wage
- St. Louis, MO-IL: 1,480 employees, $57,770 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 1,440 employees, $71,530 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 1,430 employees, $74,170 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 1,400 employees, $70,260 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 1,290 employees, $70,630 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Paramedics.
Diversity
Demographic information on Paramedics in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Paramedics in 2023 was 99,530 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Paramedics.
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 Paramedics.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Paramedics.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Paramedics in 2023 were Business, Social Sciences, General Studies.
Common majors for Paramedics.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Paramedics workers.
Education level distribution for Paramedics.
Skills
Paramedics need many skills, but most especially Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Coordination, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation.
Required skills for Paramedics.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Paramedics.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Paramedics include Psychology, Customer and Personal Service, Medicine and Dentistry, English Language, Administrative.
Knowledge areas required for Paramedics.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Paramedics include Deductive Reasoning, Problem Sensitivity, Inductive Reasoning, Written Comprehension, Oral Comprehension.
Required abilities for Paramedics.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Paramedics.
Daily Activities
Paramedics spend their time on activities such as Assisting and Caring for Others, Documenting/Recording Information, Getting Information, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates.
Most important work activities for Paramedics.
About
Paramedics
The average yearly wage for Paramedics was $76,494 in 2023.
SOC Code
29-2043 - Paramedics
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Paramedics reports an average salary of $76,494.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 99,530 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 7.5%, 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.