How Much Do EMTs Make an Hour? EMT Pay Calculator by State

Emergency medical technicians earned a median of $21.38 an hour in May 2025, $44,470 a year on a 40-hour basis, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which counted 180,510 paid EMTs. The bottom tenth earned under $16.41 and the top tenth over $30.05. EMTs often work long shifts and more than 40 hours, and overtime isn't in those figures, so real annual pay is often higher than the median salary suggests.

EMTs: pay at every level

This is the BLS line for emergency medical technicians (SOC 29-2042) on employers' payrolls; paramedics have their own line and calculator. Volunteer EMTs, who do much of the same work, are not in these figures (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). Take-home assumes a single filer with 2026 federal tax and FICA and no state tax.

EMT pay by state

Hawaii pays EMTs far more than anywhere else, $31.93 an hour, ahead of Alaska ($27.61) and New Jersey ($25.78). Oklahoma ($16.43) and West Virginia ($16.52) pay least. California employs the most EMTs, 21,880, at $22.30; New York pays $23.27 and Texas $17.91.

Which employers pay EMTs most

Outpatient care centers have the highest EMT median, $67,560, though they employ few. Among the big employers, private hospitals pay $47,160, local government $45,780, and ambulance services, which employ 46% of EMTs, $42,260 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).

A EMT's schedule

Most EMTs work full time and some work more than 40 hours a week. Emergencies don't keep office hours, so schedules include nights, weekends and holidays, and some services run extended shifts of 12, 18 or 24 hours (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). Ambulance services employ 46% of EMTs, local government 24% and private hospitals 16%.

Overtime for EMTs

Which overtime rule applies depends on who employs you. EMTs at a city, county, fire district or state fire department who are trained in fire suppression and have the authority to fight fires count as fire protection employees, owed overtime only after 212 hours in a 28-day period under section 7(k) (DOL Fact Sheet #8). EMTs at private ambulance companies and hospitals are owed time and a half after 40 hours a week. On a shift of 24 hours or more, employer and employee may agree to leave out a sleep period of up to 8 hours — but only if sleeping facilities are provided and you can usually sleep through; a call counts as work, and if calls keep you from a reasonable night's sleep the whole period counts (29 CFR 785.22).

What one long shift pays EMTs

BLS's hourly figure is straight time. On extended shifts what an EMT takes home per shift depends on how many of the hours are paid. The table multiplies the BLS median and 75th percentile EMT wages by the paid hours in a 12-, 18- and 24-hour shift, and shows a 24-hour shift where an 8-hour sleep period is excluded by agreement (29 CFR 785.22). Overtime and any night premium are on top of these straight-time figures.

Training, licenses and pay

EMTs complete a postsecondary program, typically under a year for EMT-Basic and up to 2 years for Advanced EMT, offered by technical institutes, community colleges and emergency-care training centers. Every state requires a license; most require national certification, others their own exam, and some add a minimum age and background check. Employers typically want a driver's license and may prefer ambulance driver certification. Paramedic programs require Advanced EMT certification first (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).

Related tools and guides

More ways to work with your EMT pay:

• Overtime pay calculator
• Take-home pay calculator (2026 federal tax)
• Side hustles for veterans
• Overtime vs side hustle calculator
• Hourly pay by job: all the BLS pay calculators