Total compensation · Top step
Firefighter pay comparison
Base salary plus the incentives you include, using each department's most recent data on or before FY2026-27.
Switch to Take-home to subtract employee pension and health costs, or Employer cost to add what the department pays on top.
Average total
$153,133
29 departments
Highest
$215,009
San Francisco FD
Lowest
$113,929
Kern County FD
Metro Fire vs avg
+$5,155
Ranked #12 of 29
Annual compensation stack · FY2026-27
Sorted by total, highest first
Comparison matrix
Click a row for its incentive breakdown
| # | Hrs/wk | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco FDFY2026-27 | 48.7 | $154,968 | $60,041 | $215,009 | +$56,721 (+35.8%) |
| 2 | San Jose FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $164,944 | $44,894 | $209,838 | +$51,550 (+32.6%) |
| 3 | Contra Costa County FPDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $150,650 | $29,642 | $180,292 | +$22,004 (+13.9%) |
| 4 | Los Angeles City FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA) | $132,129 | $45,072 | $177,201 | +$18,913 (+11.9%) |
| 5 | Alameda County FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $139,456 | $35,434 | $174,890 | +$16,602 (+10.5%) |
| 6 | Long Beach FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $113,226 | $59,704 | $172,930 | +$14,642 (+9.3%) |
| 7 | Oakland FDFY2025-26 | 5248/96 | $142,617 | $28,097 | $170,714 | +$12,426 (+7.9%) |
| 8 | Cosumnes CSDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $126,895 | $37,647 | $164,543 | +$6,255 (+4.0%) |
| 9 | Vacaville FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $131,699 | $31,325 | $163,024 | +$4,736 (+3.0%) |
| 10 | Sacramento City FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $125,818 | $33,819 | $159,637 | +$1,349 (+0.9%) |
| 11 | Ventura County FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $125,200 | $34,274 | $159,474 | +$1,187 (+0.7%) |
| 12 | Metro FireFY2025-26 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $115,151 | $43,137 | $158,288 | baseline |
| 13 | West Sacramento FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $126,797 | $30,743 | $157,539 | −$748 (−0.5%) |
| 14 | Roseville FDFY2025-26 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $114,332 | $43,067 | $157,399 | −$889 (−0.6%) |
| 15 | El Dorado Hills FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $136,977 | $19,842 | $156,818 | −$1,470 (−0.9%) |
| 16 | Fairfield FDFY2024-25 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $126,408 | $29,783 | $156,191 | −$2,097 (−1.3%) |
| 17 | Folsom FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $115,205 | $38,495 | $153,699 | −$4,589 (−2.9%) |
| 18 | Rocklin FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $119,507 | $29,095 | $148,602 | −$9,685 (−6.1%) |
| 19 | Davis City FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $119,059 | $26,652 | $145,711 | −$12,577 (−7.9%) |
| 20 | Orange County Fire AuthorityFY2025-26 | 56(FLSA) | $109,113 | $29,727 | $138,840 | −$19,448 (−12.3%) |
| 21 | Los Angeles County FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA) | $109,538 | $28,939 | $138,478 | −$19,810 (−12.5%) |
| 22 | Sacramento County Airport FireFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $112,251 | $25,981 | $138,232 | −$20,056 (−12.7%) |
| 23 | UC Davis FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $127,014 | $3,840 | $130,855 | −$27,433 (−17.3%) |
| 24 | South Placer FPDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $96,924 | $29,147 | $126,071 | −$32,217 (−20.4%) |
| 25 | Auburn FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $95,488 | $29,757 | $125,245 | −$33,043 (−20.9%) |
| 26 | San Diego City FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $93,652 | $24,584 | $118,236 | −$40,052 (−25.3%) |
| 27 | Woodland FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $97,608 | $17,166 | $114,774 | −$43,514 (−27.5%) |
| 28 | Lincoln FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $98,825 | $15,574 | $114,399 | −$43,889 (−27.7%) |
| 29 | Kern County FDFY2026-27 | 56(FLSA)48/96 | $87,327 | $26,603 | $113,929 | −$44,358 (−28.0%) |
Proposal scenario
Raise on Metro Fire base salary. Other departments stay at current pay.
| Year | Raise | Total | Rank | vs avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | — | $158,288 | #12/29 | +$5,339 |
| FY2027-28 | +3% | $162,004 | #10/29 | +$9,055 |
| FY2028-29 | +3% | $165,831 | #8/29 | +$12,882 |
| FY2029-30 | +4% | $171,087 | #7/29 | +$18,138 |
Base raise to match the average
0.00%
Base raise to pass #1 (San Francisco FD)
45.80%
Raises compound. % incentives such as longevity grow with base, flat-dollar incentives don't, and holiday hours are re-priced.