# The 2018 EMTLife Salary Survey



## RocketMedic (Jun 25, 2018)

So, I'm curious as to what different agencies and areas are paying, and how it shapes up. This is also intended to be a resource for people looking at average wages, salaries and schedules, and ideally, it'll get super-popular and pinned.

Please provide as much information as you feel comfortable providing (ie hourly pay rate, annual average salary, schedule, benefits, agency name and/or type, and region, along with any applicable taxes or lack thereof.)

I work as a paramedic in the greater Houston metropolitan area, specifically North Harris County, for Cypress Creek EMS. As a "P-2" paramedic, I'm at $25.75 an hour, with benefits paid by the company (self-insured) 100% for me, 90% for family. Annual salary on our base 42-hour average schedule is approximately $59k a year. It's an all-911 service.


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## RocketMedic (Jun 25, 2018)

Eventually, I'd like to be able to build an EMTLife "Real-Time Predominant Salary Map" with this data, so your data can help to better understand what we do.


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## srcoen (Jun 25, 2018)

I volunteer as a Basic for a Fire Department in the Oklahoma Panhandle... my pay is $13.22 per hour, on a part-time basis, so no benefits aside from free flight medical membership. The career guys, on the other hand, are all IAFF, so they get all those benefits and pay. This department is easily 90% Paramedic, both paid side and volunteer.


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## mgr22 (Jun 25, 2018)

RocketMedic said:


> Eventually, I'd like to be able to build an EMTLife "Real-Time Predominant Salary Map" with this data, so your data can help to better understand what we do.



EMS World just did this. See their on-line "salary calculator."


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## Summit (Jun 25, 2018)

Per diem rate for a Paramedic I is $24-26/hr, county 911 3rd service (some crit care/IFT). I think experienced Paramedic II make as much or more with good benefits. 48/96

Neighboring district FF/P makes more...

Ski patrol makes much less


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## Tigger (Jun 25, 2018)

AMR Colorado Springs: 16.8sometthing for starting, no experience paramedics. 42 hour work week.
Colorado Springs Fire (non-transport). FF/PM after one year probation at 72k/year. 
Ambulance district west of Colorado Springs: 15.25/hr, 56 hour work week. Fully paid insurance, generous retirement.
Transporting fire districts near Colorado Springs: Paramedics at about 15/hr, part and full time, no fire certs required. Fulltimers with pension, fully paid health insurance. 56 hour work week. 
Several more wealthy fire districts near Colorado Springs: Paramedics starting at 68k/year. 56 hour work week. Usual fire benies. 

PM for agency names.


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## michael150 (Jun 26, 2018)

Summit said:


> Per diem rate for a Paramedic I is $24-26/hr, county 911 3rd service (some crit care/IFT). I think experienced Paramedic II make as much or more with good benefits. 48/96
> 
> Neighboring district FF/P makes more...
> 
> Ski patrol makes much less



Summit, where are you?


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## StCEMT (Jun 26, 2018)

A pay raise just got approved for everyone that I assume is raising our minimum as well to $17/hr. So $42k annual without overtime. 3% raise per year.


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## rails (Jun 26, 2018)

I would like to offer a template:

1. What is the starting hourly pay rate or starting annual salary?
2. What is the typical schedule for this pay?
3. What region are you in?
4. What are the benefits, especially health insurance and retirement?
5. Optional: What is the typical call volume?
6. Optional: What is your hourly pay rate or annual salary?
7. Optional: How many years experience do you have?
8. Optional: What is your education level, and does it impact your pay?
9. Optional: Agency name or type?


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## rails (Jun 26, 2018)

1. What is the starting hourly pay rate or starting annual salary? Approximately $41,500 per year for every paramedic regardless of work schedule.
2. What is the typical schedule for this pay? Mostly rotating 12s (42 hours per week average) or 24/48s -- same annual pay regardless (your hourly pay fluctuates to ensure the same annual pay)
3. What region are you in? East Texas
4. What are the benefits, especially health insurance and retirement? The health insurance is nothing great. I don't recall the specifics. I buy my own insurance. 4% match on 401(k) contributions.
5. Optional: What is the typical call volume? The 24s tend to do around 6 calls per 24 hours, though it can vary widely. The rotating 12s tend to do 6-8 calls per 12 hours.


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## RocketMedic (Jun 26, 2018)

rails said:


> 1. What is the starting hourly pay rate or starting annual salary? Approximately $41,500 per year for every paramedic regardless of work schedule.
> 2. What is the typical schedule for this pay? Mostly rotating 12s (42 hours per week average) or 24/48s -- same annual pay regardless (your hourly pay fluctuates to ensure the same annual pay)
> 3. What region are you in? East Texas
> 4. What are the benefits, especially health insurance and retirement? The health insurance is nothing great. I don't recall the specifics. I buy my own insurance. 4% match on 401(k) contributions.
> 5. Optional: What is the typical call volume? The 24s tend to do around 6 calls per 24 hours, though it can vary widely. The rotating 12s tend to do 6-8 calls per 12 hours.



@rails, I like this. Are you at Champion?


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## CANMAN (Jun 26, 2018)

HEMS job: Hospital employed in the D.C. Metro region, community based. Our lowest base rate starting would be for a 3 year medic and they would come in at 27.10 an hour. My hourly is currently 37.72 an hour, and we are slated to get an additional 2% per year over the next 3 years (so 6% total) in the coming contract. I also get shift diff of 2.71 an hour for 8 outta 12 hours every shifts, so really I make about 40.32 an hour currently.

Benefits are that of a hospital. Multiple plans to choose from, including a really good in-network plan in which you pay almost nothing if you're not picky. I chose to pay more for our Blue Cross Blue Shield plan for my wife and I. It's about 143.00 per pay period 80/20 plan with 1k out of pocket max per year and PPO. Hospital currently matches 3% on the 401.....Tons of options for life insurance, AFLAC, etc. and short term and long term dis insurance is paid for by the hospital.

Schedule is 12 hour shifts, 10-10. We normally work 3-12's one week, and 3-12's the next and an 8 hour trauma bay shift every two weeks for a total of 80 hours a pay, and also get paid for our lunches so you normally have a few hours of OT on the check as well. That being said overtime is plentiful and we are always short. So it's pretty easy to hustle a 60 hour week and a 48 for like a 108hr paycheck and walk with some serious coin. Flight volumes can range from nothing, to an average of 2 per shift, to maybe 5 in a shift. Alot of the times it's really variable based on hospital census.

FD part-time job as FF/PM: rural MD county based. Currently 18.95 per hour (started at 14.75 almost 11 years ago)! The wages are fairly low for the area, but I work at a great station and the volunteers really take care of us. The call volume is low (quality vs. quantity) and I have more then enough time to wash and wax my car, workout, work on personal stuff etc. Most the nights I sleep all night, and if you do have to get up it's for legit stuff. At this point in my career I am ok with running less and making a bit less for the side hustle. When someone calls and says the house is on fire, it's actually on fire and not a dryer vent lol. Full-time fire/ems for other county departments in the area make much more, but I lost my desire to do full-time fire/ems a long time ago with so much abuse of the EMS system around my area.

Also teach here and there for critical care skills and airway labs at a local university and that rate is 60 an hour but paid as a contractor and you are 1099'ed.


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## Bullets (Jun 26, 2018)

rails said:


> I would like to offer a template:
> 
> 1. What is the starting hourly pay rate or starting annual salary?
> 2. What is the typical schedule for this pay?
> ...



1.) $25/hr with no experience ALS
2.) Pitman schedule, 84hr pay period
3.) Central NJ
4.) Choice of three health insurance plans through our hospital employer, the largest hospital network in NJ. 403B with employer match to 15% 
5.)about 100 responses a month. 50ish contacts, 30ish transports
6.)$26/hr w/ 15% night diff
7.)As a EMT, 9, as a medic, less than 1
8.)Bachelors with some post grad, no, just better opportunities for promotion


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## VFlutter (Jun 26, 2018)

I need to move out of the MidWest. Most of you guys make more than I do


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## rails (Jun 26, 2018)

RocketMedic said:


> @rails, I like this. Are you at Champion?



PMed you 



Bullets said:


> 1.) $25/hr with no experience ALS
> 2.) Pitman schedule, 84hr pay period
> 3.) Central NJ
> 4.) Choice of three health insurance plans through our hospital employer, the largest hospital network in NJ. 403B with employer match to 15%
> ...



Bullets, so with about 14 shifts per month under the Pitman schedule (known here as "rotating 12s"), y'all run about 7 runs per shift? Is that mostly refusals and then 30-ish transports per month, or am I misunderstanding?


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## CANMAN (Jun 26, 2018)

VFlutter said:


> I need to move out of the MidWest. Most of you guys make more than I do



Just means that we have to spend more to live....The fleet of cars and trucks I could have in exchange for my mortgage payment on my 2,200 sq. foot townhome would make you realize the MidWest is just dandy.


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## rujero (Jun 27, 2018)

Years ago when I was doing 911 response in the Greater Boston area I was making $13.25 on a BLS truck. After my first back surgery I took a hit in pay and pride to work IFT for $12.50. After my second back surgery I went to nursing school.


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## DrParasite (Jun 27, 2018)

Former job:

1. What is the starting hourly pay rate or starting annual salary? 17.94/hr with nothing extra for experience for EMTs
2. What is the typical schedule for this pay? 12 hr days or 12 hour nights, pittman schedule, set days or nights.
3. What region are you in?  Northern NJ
4. What are the benefits, especially health insurance and retirement?  state pension, state provided insurance
5. Optional: What is the typical call volume? 125,000 requests for service a year, handled by 5 24/7 ALS units, 4 24/7 BLS units, and 4 12 hour peak load trucks, all working 12 hour shifts.  during a busy summer day, BLS would do between 12 and 18 calls in a 12 hour period.  ALS would do 6 to 12, including cancellations.  BLS covered 1 urban city, ALS covered 3 urban cities.
6. Optional: What is your hourly pay rate or annual salary? after a few years, with 15% night differential, I was making 22/hr
7. Optional: How many years experience do you have? 15 or so, 9 of which were career experience in urban cities.
8. Optional: What is your education level, and does it impact your pay? Bachelors degree, no impact at all.


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## DrParasite (Jun 27, 2018)

previous former job

1. What is the starting hourly pay rate or starting annual salary? 15.75/hr with nothing extra for experience for EMTs
2. What is the typical schedule for this pay? 12 hr days or 12 hour nights, pittman schedule, set days or nights.
3. What region are you in? Central NJ
4. What are the benefits, especially health insurance and retirement? 3 different plans, most services provided by the hospital were cheap.  403B
5. Optional: What is the typical call volume? 4 ALS units 24/7 covering the eastern and southern half of the county, 1 24/7 CCT/ALS unit, 1  daytime CCT unit, 1 24/7 BLS unit, 4 daytime BLS units providing contracting municipal 911 EMS coverage, 1 24/7 911/IFT unit, and 4 IFT units working day shift.  and 2 additional BLS units 24/7 contracted to provide 911 coverage for a town in another county.  call volume depended on the truck and location, busiest was 8-10 calls in 12 hours, or you could do 0 calls in 12 hours. 
6. Optional: What is your hourly pay rate or annual salary? after a few years, with 15% night differential, I was making 20/hr
7. Optional: How many years experience do you have? When I started, 1 year of career experience in urban cities, and 7 years overall.
8. Optional: What is your education level, and does it impact your pay? Bachelors degree, no impact at all.


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## Bullets (Jun 27, 2018)

rails said:


> PMed you
> 
> 
> 
> Bullets, so with about 14 shifts per month under the Pitman schedule (known here as "rotating 12s"), y'all run about 7 runs per shift? Is that mostly refusals and then 30-ish transports per month, or am I misunderstanding?



Yes, 7-8 calls a shift is our norm. As you see, 50% of the time we turn the wheel we get cancelled with 3-4 contacts a shift. usually get like 2 transports and a release and maybe a refusal.



DrParasite said:


> Post


Funny how things changed. Now were running 4 24/7 ALS, 2 24/7 CCT/ALS, 1 12hr ALS and there can be as many as 9 BLS running, and thats not including Somerset


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## Peak (Jun 27, 2018)

When I left the fire service a while back we were making 18-ish an hour for regular shifts working 48/96s as fire medics, smaller urban interface transport department on the front range. Benefits were about the minimum that you could provide under the law, the health insurance was cheap but minimum coverage. 401K with match, no pension. From the guys I talk to on the department it sounds like the pay hasn't changed much, they are pushing hard for part time/PRN medics who only work the bus and get paid much less. You could make much more if you got a wild land assignment during the summer, but it is very physically demanding work; one of our medics would pull 120+ an hour in over time when he would get individually assigned to out of state fires. The majority of the department were either trying to get onto a bigger department or figuring what to do with their lives to make a living wage. 

Currently I make about 40 an hour for regular time in the ED as a staff/charge nurse with occasional community outreach/education stuff. Our pay gets calculated weird, we get some differentials paid at 1.5 when we are in over time but not others. OT is about 60, 70 if I get call in or shift bonus pay. When all is said and done I would make about 85K a year if I didn't work OT doing 36 hours a week, working 1-2 OT shifts a week I make just shy of 130K a year. The system pays for all required certifications and licenses, even my EMS certs that I don't need per my job title. They also will pay for me to take classes that we don't require in the department, for example STABLE, NRP, and ATCN/ATLS as long as it is beneficial to the department. We get a bonus for every board cert when we pass or renew, plus they cover the costs of boards. We also get paid for education time for conferences and CE/CEU/CMEs.  We don't pay more for BSN vs ADN, but we very rarely hire anyone who doesn't have a BSN; without a BSN you can't really advance at all. We even get a bonus at the end of the year for doing volunteer work in the medical field or any volunteering in the local community. Basically if my time befits the department, they pay for it.


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## NPO (Jun 28, 2018)

1. What is the starting hourly pay rate or starting annual salary?
-Paramedic: $17/hr
-Night Shift Differential: $1.50
-LDT Bonus $10/hr
-Holidays are double time


2. What is the typical schedule for this pay?
-12 hours
-Mon,Tue,Fri,Sat,Sun,Wed,Thur


3. What region are you in? 
-Southwest Missouri


4. What are the benefits, especially health insurance and retirement?
-100% company paid health and dental. 
-Low deductible health plan with 0% after deductible.
-State Pension with highest level employer contribution
-Optional 457k retirement
-Paid professional development (college, extra training, etc..)


5. Optional: What is the typical call volume?
- 12000/year
- 4-6 ALS units on per day (6 at peak hours)
- 1-6 ALS fly cars 

6. Optional: What is your hourly pay rate or annual salary?
$19.52

7. Optional: How many years experience do you have?
- 1.5 Paramedic
- 6 EMT

8. Optional: What is your education level, and does it impact your pay?
Almost completed associates; no.

9. Optional: Agency name or type?
Ambulance district... Basically a county 3rd service.


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## DrParasite (Jun 28, 2018)

http://ems-stats.com/ looks to be doing the exact same thing.... but with a super cool dynamic interface


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## rails (Jun 30, 2018)

DrParasite said:


> http://ems-stats.com/ looks to be doing the exact same thing.... but with a super cool dynamic interface



One big downside to this ems-stats website (I just completed the survey and tried it) is that it only allowed me to input hourly pay, and it ranks my pay (which is 24 hour pay) on the same scale as 12 hour pay. I'm not so sure how reliable the pay results might be. *shrug*


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## NPO (Jun 30, 2018)

rails said:


> One big downside to this ems-stats website (I just completed the survey and tried it) is that it only allowed me to input hourly pay, and it ranks my pay (which is 24 hour pay) on the same scale as 12 hour pay. I'm not so sure how reliable the pay results might be. *shrug*


Many agencies that do 24 hour pay lower also assign a 12 hour pay rate. Do you have one of those you could submit?


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## DrParasite (Jun 30, 2018)

rails said:


> it only allowed me to input hourly pay, and it ranks my pay (which is 24 hour pay) on the same scale as 12 hour pay. I'm not so sure how reliable the pay results might be. *shrug*


what does that mean?  my pay is in US dollars, and I get paid by the hour, whether I work 12s, 24s, or 8s.  Unless you are referring to that whole "we don't get paid for sleep time" so your 24 hour pay rate is artificially high (I think).

i always found the easiest way to calculate your hourly pay is to take the amount you take over your entire shift, and divide it by the numbers of hours you are working, and it's pretty accurate way to calculate hourly rate.


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## WolfmanHarris (Jun 30, 2018)

1. What is the starting hourly pay rate or starting annual salary?
$38.75/hr PCP
$42.40/hr ACP

15% pay in lieu of benefits for PT. 
Provincial medical covers most, benefits cover 100% dental, pharm, chiro/massage, etc. No max on drugs or dental, generous max on everything else. (Save mental health can be used up way too quick)


2. What is the typical schedule for this pay?
42 hr week
4N-4off-3D3N-4off-4D-6off

3. What region are you in?
Ontario Canada
4. What are the benefits, especially health insurance and retirement?
Benefits as above. 
Defined benefit pension. 70% of avg 3 best years after 30. Indexed to inflation. Pension fund outside the employer with workers and employer reps on pension board. 

5. Optional: What is the typical call volume?
~80k calls per year. 1.1M pop urban/suburban/rural. Peak deployment about 40 transport units dropping to around 25 at lowest (2400-0600).
Depends on the station but service avg maybe 4-6 calls per shift. Some movement to cover off adjacent stations.


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## NPO (Jun 30, 2018)

WolfmanHarris said:


> 1. What is the starting hourly pay rate or starting annual salary?
> $38.75/hr PCP
> $42.40/hr ACP



What is the take home pay?
Sorry, us Yanks don't know how the Canadian tax system works.

Or at least I don't.


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## VFlutter (Jun 30, 2018)

DrParasite said:


> what does that mean?  my pay is in US dollars, and I get paid by the hour, whether I work 12s, 24s, or 8s.  Unless you are referring to that whole "we don't get paid for sleep time" so your 24 hour pay rate is artificially high (I think).



Sometimes places that are scheduled for two 24s (48hrs) have a lower average hourly due to the guaranteed 8hrs of overtime every week unless like you said they don't pay sleep time.


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## NPO (Jun 30, 2018)

DrParasite said:


> i always found the easiest way to calculate your hourly pay is to take the amount you take over your entire shift, and divide it by the numbers of hours you are working, and it's pretty accurate way to calculate hourly rate.



I had a coworker that didn't understand what taxes were. She explained angrily that we were paid less than minimum wage because her paycheck was for X number of dollars, and that number divided by the number of hours she worked was less than minimum wage. 

She was jus looking at the amount deposited, not the whole check.


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## rails (Jul 1, 2018)

VFlutter said:


> Sometimes places that are scheduled for two 24s (48hrs) have a lower average hourly due to the guaranteed 8hrs of overtime every week unless like you said they don't pay sleep time.



Right. That's the situation here. We work 120 hours every 2 weeks (typically... though with one 96 hour pay period 1 out of every 3 pay periods), so there's 20 hours of automatic overpay time every 2 out of 3 pay periods. My hourly pay sounds misleadingly low in that context. Technically speaking, many EMS providers on 12 hour shifts make much more than me on an hourly basis, but my *annual pay* (with the automatic overtime included) looks a lot better.

I kind of prefer having both hourly and annual pay data available. *shrug*

Nothing against ems-stats.com, but to me this thread is far more useful. Just IMO.


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## SamGribley (Jul 2, 2018)

1. What is the starting hourly pay rate or starting annual salary?
-It's around $16.00/hr for medics and $12.50/hr for basics.  Those would both be for someone fresh out of school with zero experience.
- Holidays are double time
- Yearly 2% raises
- Medics get large bumps at 3, 5, 8, and 11 years experience.

2. What is the typical schedule for this pay?
-12 hour A/B rotation with 48 hrs one week and 36 hrs the next week

3. What region are you in?
-Central Illinois

4. What are the benefits, especially health insurance and retirement?
-Health insurance is BC/BS 80/20 at a reasonable rate.  
-Free dental insurance. 
-We have a 403B and the company matches 50% of your contribution with no limit.   
-$500 Christmas bonus every year
-yearly incentive bonus (mine was $750 in 2017).

6. What is your hourly pay rate or annual salary?
-I make $21.99/hr as a CCP with 9 years of experience.

8. What is your education level, and does it impact your pay?
-If I remember correctly I got around a 12.5% raise when I got my CCP certification.

9. Agency name or type?
-Private not-for-profit service based out of central Illinois with outlying markets in western Illinois and eastern Iowa.


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## rails (Jul 2, 2018)

SamGribley said:


> <snip>
> 
> 4. What are the benefits, especially health insurance and retirement?
> -Health insurance is BC/BS 80/20 at a reasonable rate.
> ...



Thanks for responding. On the 403(b), is there no limit? So you could defer $18k and get a $9k match? That is a heck of a deal.

Did your 12.5% raise come with any changes in your work, e.g. are you picking up critical care transports or such?


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## WolfmanHarris (Jul 3, 2018)

NPO said:


> What is the take home pay?
> Sorry, us Yanks don't know how the Canadian tax system works.
> 
> Or at least I don't.


My net per month fluctuates a bit w/ shift premiums ($0.90/hr extra for nights and weekend shifts) missed meals, shift overrun (not a lot maybe a couple hours per month). Average take home is about $4800 per month.


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