Firefighters in Texas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,535
after federal, FICA and Texas tax
Tax takes
$9,645
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,004
Texas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Texas — 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
$60,180
Kept after tax
$50,535
Worth in national money
$52,004
State rank
17
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Texas is 17 of 50 states for firefighters, with a middle wage of $60,180. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Texas reports figures for, this is number 210.
- No great distortion either way. Texas costs about what the country costs, so from $60,180, take-home of $50,535 is worth roughly $52,004 in national money. The average comes to $60,390, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Texas ranks 17 of 50 for firefighters at $60,180. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Texas's occupational distribution, firefighters sits at 210 of 493 — 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 Texas is near the national base, so for firefighters, whose median is $60,180, the adjusted figure of $52,004 differs little from $50,535 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $60,390 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Firefighters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,180 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,170 |
| This salary | $60,180 |
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 Texas | $50,535 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Florida | $50,535 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,155 |
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 | $60,180 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,063 |
| Prices in Florida | 103 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of firefighters in Texas earn under $60,180 and half over. The published range runs $40,020 at the tenth percentile to $77,170 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Texas's $50,535, worked from $60,180. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 210 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,004 uses one figure for the whole of Texas. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 210.
- Figures are distribution medians for firefighters in Texas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $40,020 to $77,170; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Texas take-home of $50,535, on $60,180 for work ranking 210 of 493 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 210 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,004, worked from $60,180, 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 Texas address, on work sitting at 210 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $40,020 at the tenth percentile, $77,170 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Texas is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $52,004 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $50,535 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($40,020 to $77,170) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Texas rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Texas'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 $52,004 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Texas levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $50,535 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.