Median pay for emts runs from $21,840 in Ponce to $68,160 in Lexington Park — a 3.12× range across 428 metropolitan areas. The national median of $44,470 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
From $34,130 at the 10th percentile to $62,500 at the 90th is only 1.83×, which is narrow. Pay for emts is set more by structure than by individual outcome — scales, steps, licensure. That makes income predictable and makes the ceiling real: the way to earn materially more is usually to change role or location, not to out-perform within this one.
Lexington Park (MD) leads and Ponce (PR) trails, but the gap is modest. For a role like this the more useful comparison is not between cities but between the 10th and 90th percentile within one — see the band above.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington Park MD | $68,160 | $32.77 | 0.94 | 80 |
| Urban Honolulu HI | $67,050 | $32.24 | 0.89 | 460 |
| Redding CA | $60,120 | $28.90 | 1.01 | 80 |
| South Florida nonmetropolitan area | $58,530 | $28.14 | 1.2 | 120 |
| Trenton-Princeton NJ | $56,430 | $27.13 | 0.46 | 130 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $55,700 | $26.78 | 0.53 | 1,290 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury CT | $54,990 | $26.44 | 0.57 | 270 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $54,650 | $26.27 | 0.63 | 830 |
| Bismarck ND | $53,940 | $25.93 | 0.99 | 80 |
| Wilmington NC | $53,850 | $25.89 | 1.09 | 240 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $53,820 | $25.88 | 1.25 | 13,780 |
| New Haven CT | $53,440 | $25.69 | 1.51 | 490 |
| Vineland NJ | $52,890 | $25.43 | 2.07 | 150 |
| Waterbury-Shelton CT | $52,440 | $25.21 | 1.45 | 270 |
| Iowa City IA | $52,210 | $25.10 | 0.68 | 70 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA | $52,010 | $25.01 | 0.74 | 1,040 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA | $51,970 | $24.98 | 0.64 | 70 |
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater WA | $51,760 | $24.88 | 0.9 | 140 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $51,480 | $24.75 | 1.3 | 3,580 |
| Anchorage AK | $51,130 | $24.58 | 0.77 | 160 |
| Morristown TN | $51,000 | $24.52 | 1.89 | 100 |
| Salem OR | $50,800 | $24.42 | 0.96 | 210 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $50,560 | $24.31 | 1.08 | 3,410 |
| Worcester MA | $50,560 | $24.31 | 1.09 | 440 |
| Rochester MN | $50,070 | $24.07 | 1.77 | 250 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ponce PR | $21,840 | $10.50 | 0.83 | 60 |
| Tulsa OK | $28,350 | $13.63 | 0.86 | 460 |
| East Arkansas nonmetropolitan area | $28,370 | $13.64 | 1.28 | 100 |
| Lower West Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $29,080 | $13.98 | 0.63 | 60 |
| Lower East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $29,120 | $14.00 | 1.47 | 210 |
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $29,330 | $14.10 | 0.59 | 470 |
| West Delta Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $29,660 | $14.26 | 1.14 | 120 |
| Northwest Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area | $30,140 | $14.49 | 2.09 | 240 |
| East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area | $31,200 | $15.00 | 2.37 | 250 |
| Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area | $31,200 | $15.00 | 2.01 | 400 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East North Dakota nonmetropolitan area | $39,640 | $19.06 | 4.38 | 320 |
| Eagle Pass TX | $33,980 | $16.34 | 3.64 | 80 |
| Northern Vermont nonmetropolitan area | $43,810 | $21.06 | 3.58 | 370 |
| Northern Michigan nonmetropolitan area | $43,150 | $20.75 | 3.32 | 450 |
| Southwest Virginia nonmetropolitan area | $37,650 | $18.10 | 3.3 | 450 |
| Eastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area | $38,520 | $18.52 | 3.28 | 1,010 |
| Glens Falls NY | $42,790 | $20.57 | 3.22 | 190 |
| Northwestern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area | $38,750 | $18.63 | 3.16 | 180 |
| Johnstown PA | $35,300 | $16.97 | 3.09 | 170 |
| Spartanburg SC | $39,980 | $19.22 | 3.02 | 580 |
| Florence SC | $39,440 | $18.96 | 3.01 | 310 |
| Connecticut nonmetropolitan area | $48,210 | $23.18 | 3 | 230 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $53,820 | $25.88 | 1.25 | 13,780 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $45,090 | $21.68 | 0.91 | 6,610 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $44,020 | $21.16 | 1.07 | 5,610 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $47,790 | $22.97 | 1.48 | 4,970 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $51,480 | $24.75 | 1.3 | 3,580 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $50,560 | $24.31 | 1.08 | 3,410 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $47,500 | $22.84 | 0.92 | 3,090 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $37,900 | $18.22 | 0.64 | 3,000 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | $39,500 | $18.99 | 1.03 | 2,840 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $38,890 | $18.70 | 0.7 | 2,680 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA | $43,500 | $20.92 | 1.17 | 2,340 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MD | $48,330 | $23.24 | 1.36 | 2,140 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 29-2042. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates are published for 428 of 528 metropolitan areas; the remaining 100 had too few survey responses for BLS to publish without risking disclosure, so they are absent here rather than estimated. For a specialised role that is normal. Read the methodology.