Paramedic Pay in the Top 20 Metropolitan Areas tells us that the largest U.S. metro areas are top employment centers for paramedics. However, further examination of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveals that paramedics frequently find better pay, sometimes much better, in smaller population centers. As evidenced by May 2021 BLS data, only four of the largest metro areas in the U.S. were among the 20 best metro markets for paramedic pay:

20 Best Metro Markets for Paramedic Pay

	Metropolitan Area		# Employed	Annual Mean Wages
1	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (#)		960	$94,290
2	Longview, WA		40	$85,940
3	Olympia-Tumwater, WA		100	$85,530
4	Bremerton-Silverdale, WA		90	$85,400
5	Bellingham, WA		60	$84,930
6	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA		60	$76,790
7	Barnstable Town, MA		70	$75,860
8	Kennewick-Richland, WA		80	$75,120
9	Fond du Lac, WI		40	$74,990
10	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA		480	$74,690
11	Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA		160	$71,220
12	San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (#)		590	$69,470
13	Western Washington non-metro		230	$67,070
14	New Haven, CT		280	$66,650
15	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT		200	$66,400
16	New York-Newark-Jersey City (#)		4,050	$65,490
17	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (#)		970	$65,170
18	Wenatchee, WA		60	$65,020
19	Alaska non-metro		40	$64,450
20	Northern Valley California non-metro		50	$64,400
	National		96,510	$49,500

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

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