Paramedics in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,348
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$12,032
19.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,883
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$60,380
Kept after tax
$48,348
Worth in national money
$52,883
State rank
25
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho sits in the middle of the pack for paramedics. The median is $60,380, ranking 25 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Paramedics ranks 204 among 476 occupations Idaho publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $60,380 you keep $48,348 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $52,883 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $65,480, since top earners drag the number up.
- Idaho occupies the middle band for paramedics: a median of $60,380, ranking 25 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 204 of 476 in Idaho places paramedics in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in Idaho is $48,348 after the full tax stack, from $60,380. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $52,883 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $65,480 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Paramedics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,380 |
| Top tenth earn over | $83,510 |
| This salary | $60,380 |
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 Idaho | $48,348 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,695 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$714 |
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 | $57,459 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$864 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Idaho earn less than $60,380. The published range is $48,940 up to $83,510, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $48,348 take-home in Idaho comes from $60,380. 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 204 of 476.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,883 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 204.
- Reported values are medians; for paramedics in Idaho the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,940 to $83,510. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $48,348, from $60,380, assumes a single Idaho 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 204 of 476 locally, and the state ranks 25 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,883, worked from $60,380, 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 Idaho address, on work sitting at 204 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $65,480, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $48,940 at the tenth percentile, $83,510 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 $52,883.
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; Idaho then takes its own share, leaving $48,348.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Idaho is $65,480. 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 ($48,940 to $83,510) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $52,883 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 $48,348 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.