How does EMT and medic salaries out west compare to the cost of living?

Tnaemt94

Tnaemt94

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EMS personnel are payed better out west than in the southeast. However, the cost of living out west is more expensive than that in the south.

So is the pay and cost of living ratio equivalent of that in the south?
 
Well, Texas pay is decent, and there's no state income tax. And cost of living is relatively low
 
Texas. Decent to good pay, very low cost of living.
 
Avoid CA. Pay is horrible to decent. Cost of living is usually pretty high ($300,000 will buy an ok house here, in other states that will get you an amazing house). State income tax.

If you are a firefighter paramedic then it's a little different. There are many fire departments in CA who's starting pay for FF/PM is 100K/year.
 
...Texas is so cheap because they have giant cockroaches. Went on a vacation there and I was terrified of the cockroaches and spiders that are the size of small children.

OP- most anything on the west or east coast is going to be pricey ( California, Oregon, Washington, DC, Massachusetts, etc). Cost of living tends to be cheaper towards the middle...with the exception of Colorado which for whatever reason is trying to become the second California...

The south is generally cheapest in the country in terms of living (especially the Mississippi/Alabama/Louisiana/Missouri/Texas areas)
 
I think the pay in the San Francisco Bay Area is pretty good, but it is very hard to get hired here. The pay is still not that great if you live in the Bay Area, but you can you make the most out of it by commuting from a cheaper area.
 
As a step 3 (of 13) medic in CA, i was clearing $9k a month averaging 60 hours a week...


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Utah is decent pay, stay away from the Wasatch Front and cost of living isn't too high
 
How does AZ fair? I'm thinking of relocating from MA to AZ. I'm at 17+yr medic looking for any information about EMS in AZ. Thank you!
 
How does EMT and medic salaries out west compare to the cost of living?

Short answer: Poop.
 
gotshirtz001 said:
As a step 3 (of 13) medic in CA, i was clearing $9k a month averaging 60 hours a week...


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Click to expand...
24s with a lot of sleep? Otherwise 5 12s is a brutal way to be middle class.
 
I would often work B2B 12s (night/day) 2x per week and pick up an extra weekend shift. Often, one of the shift of the B2B was dual medic. Not much sleep.


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Medic2643 said:
How does AZ fair? I'm thinking of relocating from MA to AZ. I'm at 17+yr medic looking for any information about EMS in AZ. Thank you!
Click to expand...

Northern AZ is not too bad. As a 17 year medic you will hate it in the Phoenix area though. Everything is controlled by the fire departments and you pretty much just get treated like a gurney jockey.


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