Paramedics in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,321
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$11,679
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,585
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$61,000
Kept after tax
$49,321
Worth in national money
$50,585
State rank
21
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 21 of 51 states for paramedics, with a middle wage of $61,000. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations Pennsylvania reports figures for, this is number 230.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $61,000, take-home of $49,321 is worth roughly $50,585 in national money. The average comes to $63,560, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Pennsylvania ranks 21 of 51 for paramedics at $61,000. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Pennsylvania's occupational distribution, paramedics sits at 230 of 492 — 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 Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for paramedics, whose median is $61,000, the adjusted figure of $50,585 differs little from $49,321 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $63,560 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Paramedics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,040 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,590 |
| This salary | $61,000 |
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 Pennsylvania | $49,321 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,194 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,096 |
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 | $58,669 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,535 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
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 Pennsylvania earn under $61,000 and half over. The published range runs $48,040 at the tenth percentile to $81,590 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $49,321, from $61,000, 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 230 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $50,585 uses one figure for the whole of Pennsylvania. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 230.
- Figures are distribution medians for paramedics in Pennsylvania, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $48,040 to $81,590; 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.
- Take-home for Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $49,321 from $61,000. 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 230 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $50,585, worked from $61,000, 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 Pennsylvania address, on work sitting at 230 of 492 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 $63,560 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $48,040 and the top tenth $81,590, so most people doing this work in Pennsylvania sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $50,585.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Pennsylvania adds its own income tax on top — which is why $49,321 of this wage survives to your account.
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 Pennsylvania is $63,560. 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 ($48,040 to $81,590) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $50,585 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 $49,321 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.