The most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) occupational reports estimated that there were approximately 96,500 paramedics working in the U.S. as of May 2021.  Paramedics mostly work for ambulance service providers and local government agencies, with smaller numbers employed in hospital environments or elsewhere. Paramedics earn more modest salaries and wages than workers in many other healthcare occupations.  According to BLS data, as of May 2021 the national mean wage for paramedics was $49,500 annually.  Pay for the profession varies widely from region-to-region, with paramedics in some areas making 50% or more annually than their counterparts elsewhere. This salary and wage disparity is readily seen in BLS data from May 2021, which reports the following about paramedic pay in the top 20 metropolitan areas in the U.S.:

Paramedic Pay in the Top 20 Metropolitan Areas

	Metropolitan Area		# Employed	Mean Annual Wage
1	New York-Newark-Jersey City		4,050	$65,490
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim		1,370	$59,990
3	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin		3,310	$63,180
4	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington		2,250	$48,340
5	Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land		1,930	$44,400
6	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria		970	$65,170
7	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington		1,510	$60,140
8	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach		1,080	$47,920
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta		2,280	$46,670
10	Boston-Cambridge-Newton		1,540	$59,860
11	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler		1,010	$44,740
12	San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley		590	$69,470
13	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario		650	$52,710
14	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn		1,020	$47,850
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue		960	$94,290
16	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington		930	$61,690
17	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad		410	$52,780
18	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater		670	$46,400
19	Denver-Aurora-Lakewood		820	$55,380
20	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson		1,330	$59,950
	National		96,510	$49,500

Report Period:  May 2021
Top 20 U.S. Metro areas from 2020 Census
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Occupational Statistics
Data extracted on September 17, 2022