Emergency Medical Technicians in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,888
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$9,402
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,305
Rhode Island costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Rhode Island — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$51,290
Kept after tax
$41,888
Worth in national money
$41,305
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Rhode Island's middle earner gets $51,290, putting the state 5 of 51 — about 15.34% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 452 occupations Rhode Island reports figures for, this is number 306.
- No great distortion either way. Rhode Island costs about what the country costs, so from $51,290, take-home of $41,888 is worth roughly $41,305 in national money. The average lands at $51,280, below the middle of the range.
- For emergency medical technicians, Rhode Island sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $51,290, ranking 5 of 51 and running about 15.34% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In Rhode Island's occupational distribution, emergency medical technicians sits at 306 of 452 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Price parity in Rhode Island is near the national base, so for emergency medical technicians, whose median is $51,290, the adjusted figure of $41,305 differs little from $41,888 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $51,280 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Emergency Medical Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,290 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,160 |
| This salary | $51,290 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Rhode Island | $41,888 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,392 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,348 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $49,419 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,049 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $51,290 as a midpoint for Rhode Island, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $39,360 and the ninetieth is $61,160 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $41,888 take-home in Rhode Island comes from $51,290. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 306 of 452.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $41,305 uses one figure for the whole of Rhode Island. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 452 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 306.
- The Rhode Island median of $51,290 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $39,360 to $61,160. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $41,888, from $51,290, assumes a single Rhode Island filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 306 of 452 locally, and the state ranks 5 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $41,305, worked from $51,290, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Rhode Island address, on work sitting at 306 of 452 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $39,360 at the bottom tenth to $61,160 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Rhode Island run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $41,305 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Rhode Island's own levy, $41,888 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,360 to $61,160) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Rhode Island rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Rhode Island's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $41,305 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $41,888 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Rhode Island income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.