EMT and Paramedic Pay in the Great Plains Region

Data recently published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put emergency medical technician (EMT) and paramedic employment at more than 257,000 Americans as of May 2020. The seven-state Great Plains region accounted for over 21,000 U.S. EMT and paramedic jobs. In general, the Great Plains region was not a good one for EMT and paramedic pay, as only one state in the region had an annual mean wage level for EMTs and paramedics that was above the national average. Nearly three-quarters of the region's EMTs and paramedics lived in a state where the annual mean wage was below the national average for the profession. This included two states in the region, Kansas and South Dakota, that ranked among the ten worst states nationally for EMT and paramedic annual mean wages. According to May 2020 BLS data, emergency medical technician (EMT) and paramedic pay in the Great Plains region looked as follows:

EMT and Paramedic Pay in the Great Plains Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IA	2,270	$38,400	23rd
KS	2,580	$31,500	49th
MN	5,610	$43,730	13th
MO	8,010	$38,170	24th
NE	900	$37,910	25th
ND	820	$37,900	26th
SD	990	$33,110	46th
U.S.	257,700	$40,370	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on May 10, 2021