Paramedics in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$52,923
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$13,737
20.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,904
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$66,660
Kept after tax
$52,923
Worth in national money
$50,904
State rank
11
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for paramedics is strong here. Maryland's middle earner gets $66,660, putting the state 11 of 51 — about 10% ahead of the national figure.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Paramedics ranks 217 among 489 occupations Maryland publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $66,660 the take-home is $52,923. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $50,904 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $72,030, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For paramedics, Maryland sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $66,660, ranking 11 of 51 and running about 10% 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.
- Position 217 of 489 in Maryland 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 after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $52,923 for paramedics, from $66,660. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $50,904. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $72,030 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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: Paramedics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $66,660 |
| Top tenth earn over | $101,860 |
| This salary | $66,660 |
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 Maryland | $52,923 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $55,725 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,441 |
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 | $63,152 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,810 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
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 paramedics in Maryland earn under $66,660 and half over. The published range runs $51,020 at the tenth percentile to $101,860 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 Maryland's $52,923, worked from $66,660. 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 217 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maryland, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $50,904, the adjusted value of that $66,660 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 217 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for paramedics in Maryland, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $51,020 to $101,860; 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 Maryland take-home of $52,923, on $66,660 for work ranking 217 of 489 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 217 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maryland, so $50,904 — the adjusted value of that $66,660 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 217 of 489 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 $72,030 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $51,020 and the top tenth $101,860 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $50,904 — 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 Maryland's own levy, $52,923 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.
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 Maryland is $72,030. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($51,020) and the ninetieth ($101,860) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $50,904 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 $52,923 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.