By Bill Carey
FireRescue1
Real estate investors from FireCashBuyers.com analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to rank the best and worst states to be a firefighter based on wage and location.
Investors used the hourly mean wage, annual mean wage, employment per 1,000 jobs, and location quotient for firefighters in every state. The research did not include the District of Columbia or U.S. territories.
Each category was indexed and awarded a score out of ten to determine the final ranking of all states.
Massachusetts topped the list with a final score of 85.56. The state has a high hourly mean wage of $32.04, earning a score of 8.49.
Hawaii ranked second with a final score of 84.81. Hawaii has the second-highest annual mean wage in the top ten and the fifth-highest in the country at $72,880.
Rhode Island was third with a final score of 83.21. The state’s highest-scoring category is the employment per 1,000 jobs.
In the fourth position is New Hampshire, with a final score of 80.34.
Ohio was fifth with a final score of 79.62. Like Rhode Island, Ohio also scored high for employment per 1,000 jobs, which is 3.496 in the state.
On the other end of the research, Vermont ranked as the worst state to be a firefighter, with a final score of 39.70. The state has one of the lowest scores in America for employment per 1,000 jobs.
“The lack of firefighters in the U.S. is becoming a growing concern, especially in states where wildfires are more likely. Hopefully, the insights into the best states to be a firefighter will encourage citizens to consider this as a career,” a spokesperson from FireCashBuyers.com said.
“However, it is worrying to see which states rank at the bottom of the list; without improvements on factors like salary, the number of firefighters within these states may not increase as much as we would hope.”
How does your state rank? See the full list:
1. Massachusetts: 85.56
2. Hawaii: 84.81
3. Rhode Island: 83.21
4. New Hampshire: 80.34
5. Ohio: 79.62
6. Illinois: 78.31
7. Maine: 77.19
8. Alaska: 75.83
9. Washington: 74.02
10. California: 71.20
11. Indiana: 70.97
12. North Carolina: 69.23
13. Alabama: 68.70
14. Missouri: 67.60
15. Virginia: 67.03
16. Colorado: 66.79
17. Oklahoma: 66.52
18. New Jersey: 65.73
19. Louisiana: 65.09
20. Florida: 64.57
21. Wisconsin: 63.95
22. New York: 63.15
23. Oregon: 62.13
24. South Carolina: 60.00
25. Arzona: 59.04
26. Maryland: 58.16
27. Connecticut: 57.57
28. New Mexico: 56.35
29. Texas: 56.32
30. Georgia: 55.61
31. North Dakota: 54.99
32. Montana: 53.77
33. Nevada: 52.80
34. Wyoming: 52.53
35. Idaho: 51.52
36. Mississippi: 50.37
37. Kansas: 49.65
38. Kentucky: 49.46
39. Nebraska: 48.38
40. Michigan: 48.23
41. Minnesota: 46.36
42. Tennessee: 45.58
43. Pennsylvania: 44.55
44. Iowa: 44.03
45. Utah: 41.87
46. Delaware: 41.83
47. Arkansas: 41.71
48. South Dakota: 40.71
49. West Virginia: 39.99
50. Vermont: 39.70