Firefighters in Mississippi
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,666
after federal, FICA and Mississippi tax
Tax takes
$6,214
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,985
Mississippi costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Mississippi — 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
$35,880
Kept after tax
$29,666
Worth in national money
$33,985
State rank
49
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Mississippi is among the lower-paying states for firefighters. The middle earner takes $35,880, ranking 49 of 50 states — about 39.47% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Mississippi, this one sits low: 397 of 486 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Mississippi is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $35,880 the take-home is $29,666; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $33,985 would nationally. The average comes to $37,230, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Mississippi ranks 49 of 50 for firefighters, with a median of $35,880 — about 39.47% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Firefighters occupies position 397 of 486 in Mississippi's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for firefighters in Mississippi, on $35,880, is $29,666 — equivalent to $33,985 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $37,230 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Firefighters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,850 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $51,310 |
| This salary | $35,880 |
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 Mississippi | $29,666 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,010 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,074 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $34,208 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,508 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,880 as a midpoint for Mississippi, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $26,850 and the ninetieth is $51,310 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Mississippi the take-home figure of $29,666, from $35,880, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 397 of 486 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $33,985, the adjusted value of that $35,880 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Mississippi. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 397 of 486 locally.
- The Mississippi median of $35,880 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $26,850 to $51,310. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Mississippi is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $29,666 from $35,880. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 397 of 486 locally.
- This $33,985 adjusted figure, worked from $35,880, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 397 of 486 in the state. The occupation ranks 397 of 486 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $37,230 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $26,850 at the tenth percentile, $51,310 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $33,985.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Mississippi then takes its own share, leaving $29,666.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Mississippi is $37,230. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($26,850 to $51,310) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Mississippi rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Mississippi's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $33,985 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $29,666 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Mississippi 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.