EMT-Paramedic Pay in the Top 20 Metro Markets reveals that the largest U.S. metropolitan areas are big employment centers for EMT-Paramedics. However, a closer look into data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tells us that better pay levels, sometimes much better, are often found in smaller metro areas. May 2019 (BLS) data indicates that only three of the biggest metro areas in the U.S. were among the 20 best metropolitan markets for EMT-Paramedic pay:
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Annual Mean Wages | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olympia-Tumwater, WA | 50 | $79,360 | ||
| 2 | Bremerton-Silverdale, WA | 150 | $62,030 | ||
| 3 | Racine, WI | 110 | $60,980 | ||
| 4 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | 210 | $58,350 | ||
| 5 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 380 | $57,540 | ||
| 6 | Urban Honolulu, HI | 480 | $56,450 | ||
| 7 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (#) | 2,360 | $55,990 | ||
| 8 | El Centro, CA | 50 | $55,950 | ||
| 9 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | N/A | $54,940 | ||
| 10 | San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (#) | 3,550 | $54,180 | ||
| 11 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 800 | $54,060 | ||
| 12 | Kennewick-Richland, WA | 80 | $52,920 | ||
| 13 | Texarkana, TX-AR | 90 | $51,640 | ||
| 14 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 3,400 | $51,420 | ||
| 15 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | 180 | $51,320 | ||
| 16 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | 520 | $51,220 | ||
| 17 | Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade | 1,310 | $50,630 | ||
| 18 | Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | N/A | $49,680 | ||
| 19 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | 840 | $49,530 | ||
| 20 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (#) | 2,340 | $49,150 | ||
| National | 260,600 | $38,830 | |||
(#) a top 20 U.S metro population area
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on November 13, 2020
