Emergency Medical Technician Pay in the Top 20 Metro Markets reveals that the largest U.S. metropolitan areas are the major employment centers for EMT professionals. However, a closer examination of statistical data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tells us that emergency medical technicians can often find better pay, sometimes much better, in smaller metro areas. As found in May 2021 BLS data, only five of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. were among the 20 best metro areas for emergency medical technician pay:

20 Best Metro Areas for Emergency Medical Technician Pay

	Metropolitan Area		# Employed	Annual Mean Wages
1	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC		270	$63,500
2	Coeur d'Alene, ID		70	$59,020
3	Urban Honolulu, HI		450	$58,770
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (#)		1,820	$56,130
5	San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (#)		2,850	$55,620
6	Alaska non-metro		150	$54,530
7	Massachusetts non-metro		160	$52,470
8	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (#)		5,400	$50,820
9	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA		760	$50,790
10	Anchorage, AK		190	$48,620
11	Barnstable Town, MA		130	$48,500
12	Stockton-Lodi, CA		270	$45,040
13	Erie, PA		240	$44,530
14	Portsmouth, NH-ME		100	$44,330
15	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT		460	$44,310
16	Northern Valley California non-metro		100	$44,170
17	New Haven, CT		640	$43,750
18	Bremerton-Silverdale, WA		70	$43,570
19	Boston-Cambridge-Nashua (#)		2,920	$43,390
20	New York-Newark-Jersey City (#)		12,090	$43,310
	National		161,400	$36,690

(#) a top 20 U.S metro population area

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on December 10, 2022