Los Angeles (LAFD) firefighter salary, 2025
Los Angeles is a city in Los Angeles County. 2,042 people worked as firefighters for Los Angeles in 2025. Those who worked the full year earned an average of $217,243, overtime included.
What is the average firefighter salary at Los Angeles?
Official pay range2
$87,883 to $128,287
from the lowest entry salary to the top of the highest firefighter title
Based on the 1,901 of 2,042 firefighters who worked the full year.
Most of Los Angeles's firefighters (1,769 of 2,042) hold the title Firefighter III, with an official range of $103,064 to $128,287. Those who worked the full year earned an average of $224,521, $96,234 above the top of the range.
- Median total pay
- $208,592
- the middle firefighter: half earned more, half less
- Overtime
- $74,228
- average per full-year firefighter
- Starting salary
- $87,883
- bottom of the Firefighter I range
- Average pay rank
- 18th
- of 202 California employers
What does each firefighter title at Los Angeles pay?
Each bar is the official range for one title, lowest first. The dot marks the average total pay of full-year staff in that title, where at least 5 people stand behind it.1,2 Los Angeles reported no ranges to the State Controller except for Firefighter I, so the other ranges are the City's own salary schedules in effect from June 29, 2025, the date the Firefighter I range matches: base salary, without paramedic, longevity or other premium pay.
- Firefighter IFewer than 5
- Firefighter II$150,142
- Firefighter III$224,521
official range average total pay, full year. "Fewer than 5" means too few full-year people in that title to show.
Fire engineer, captain and battalion chief pay at Los Angeles
Ranks above firefighter, kept out of the firefighter figures on this page. Each rank's name leads to its statewide overview. Range: the middle bottom and top of each rank's salary schedules in the City's agreements, from June 29, 2025. Pay: average total pay of full-year staff, overtime included.1,2,3
| Rank | People | Official range | Average total pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firefighters | 2,042 | $87,883 to $128,287 | $217,243 |
| Engineers | 600 | $128,287 to $151,067 | $249,858 |
| Captains | 582 | $159,586 to $177,856 | $321,984 |
| Battalion Chiefs | 58 | $210,345 to $247,512 | $445,010 |
Full-year captains averaged $321,984, $104,741 more than firefighters.
Does Los Angeles pay firefighters more than other employers in Los Angeles County?
Average total pay of full-year firefighters: Los Angeles next to every employer in the county together, and the whole state.1
- Los Angeles$217,243
- All employers in Los Angeles County$206,861
- All employers in California$186,123
Full-year firefighters at Los Angeles earned $10,382 more than the Los Angeles County average and $31,120 more than the California average.
Average firefighter pay in Los Angeles County compared to nearby counties
Average total pay of full-year firefighters across all employers in each county that borders Los Angeles County, and how much more or less it pays.1
- Orange County$185,827 average, 11 employers$21,034 less than Los Angeles County
- San Bernardino County$185,219 average, 12 employers$21,642 less than Los Angeles County
- Ventura County$183,417 average, 3 employers$23,444 less than Los Angeles County
- Kern County$119,528 average, 3 employers$87,333 less than Los Angeles County
Where does Los Angeles rank among California employers?
Every employer with at least 5 full-year firefighters, by average total pay.1
All 202 California employers
Los Angeles ranks 18th of 202, above the middle employer.
Middle employer: $169,232
The 27 employers in Los Angeles County
Los Angeles ranks 6th of 27, above the middle employer.
Middle employer: $196,678
Each bar counts the employers whose average total pay falls in a $5,000 band. The dashed line marks the middle employer.
Pension and health cover at Los Angeles
As reported by the city. Contributions are what the employer paid per full-year firefighter, on top of wages.1
- Pension formula
- 2.16% at 55
- the most common formula among Los Angeles's firefighters
- Employer pension contribution
- $35,940
- average per year
- Health, dental and vision
- $20,325
- average paid by the employer per year
Questions about firefighter pay at Los Angeles
What is the average firefighter salary at Los Angeles?
Firefighters at Los Angeles who worked the full year earned an average of $217,243 in 2025, overtime included. The middle firefighter earned $208,592: half earned more, half less. The official pay range across its firefighter titles runs from $87,883 to $128,287.
How much overtime do firefighters at Los Angeles earn?
Full-year firefighters were paid an average of $74,228 in overtime in 2025. The middle one was paid $63,589: a few people with a lot of overtime pull the average up.
What is the starting salary for a firefighter at the LAFD?
$87,883 a year: the bottom of the official range for Los Angeles's Firefighter I title in 2025, as reported. Pay rises with steps and overtime; full-year firefighters averaged $217,243 in total pay.
How much does a fire captain make at the LAFD?
Full-year captains at Los Angeles averaged $321,984 in total pay in 2025, overtime included, on an official range of $159,586 to $177,856.
What pension do firefighters at Los Angeles get?
The most common pension formula among Los Angeles's firefighters is 2.16% at 55, as reported by the city. The employer paid an average of $35,940 a year into the pension plan.
More salaries in Los Angeles County
- Santa Monica$230,552 average total pay
- Compton$229,479 average total pay
- Long Beach$213,911 average total pay
- Burbank$211,387 average total pay
- Torrance$204,906 average total pay
- Pasadena$204,800 average total pay
- Highest firefighter salaries in CaliforniaThe best-paying employers, ranked
- Police officer salaries at Los Angeles$175,345 average total pay
- 911 dispatcher salaries at Los Angeles$122,673 average total pay
- Social worker salaries at Los Angeles$101,231 average total pay
- Water operator salaries at Los Angeles$143,766 average total pay
- Nurse salaries at Los Angeles$154,840 average total pay
- Librarian salaries at Los Angeles$116,589 average total pay
- Paramedic and EMT salaries at Los AngelesPay by title
- Teacher salaries in Los Angeles CountyEvery school district's salary schedule
Sources for the Los Angeles figures
Every person who held a firefighter position at Los Angeles at any point in 2025 counts toward the headcount. Pay figures use only people who worked roughly the full year: those whose regular pay reached at least 90% of the bottom of their official range. Total pay is gross wages before tax, including overtime, lump sums and other pay. Averages lead; the median total pay is the middle person's, with half above and half below, and is less pulled by a few people with very high pay. Every figure covers at least 5 people.
- State Controller's Office, Government Compensation in California, 2025: positions, wages, pension formula and employer contributions as reported by Los Angeles, and the range for Firefighter I.
- City of Los Angeles and United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, Memorandum of Understanding No. 23, 2024-2028: salary schedules for Firefighter II and III, Apparatus Operator, Engineer of Fire Department and Fire Captain I and II, operative June 29, 2025 (Appendix B-1), base salary without paramedic, longevity or other premium pay; yearly figures are the biweekly rates times 26.1, as the City publishes them.
- City of Los Angeles, Memorandum of Understanding No. 22 (Fire Chief Officers), 2024-2028: salary schedule for Fire Battalion Chief on platoon duty, operative June 29, 2025 (Appendix D).