Kentucky firefighter salaries by employer, 2025
222 people worked as firefighters for Louisville Metro in 2025. Those who worked the full year earned an average of $84,654, overtime included. So far this page covers only Louisville Metro; more Kentucky employers follow as we collect their pay data.
What is the average firefighter salary in Kentucky?
- Firefighters
- 222
- 183 of them worked the full year
- Employers
- 1
- with 5 or more firefighters
- Median total pay
- $83,512
- the middle firefighter: half earned more, half less
- Overtime
- $29,679
- average per full-year firefighter
What stands out in Kentucky firefighter pay
Overtime is part of every firefighter's week.
Louisville firefighters work a 56-hour week, and the hours past 40 are paid as overtime. Full-year firefighters had an average base pay of $44,797 and $29,679 in overtime, for an average total of $84,654.1
Company commanders average $114,428, $29,774 more than firefighters.
Full-year apparatus operators (engineers) averaged $100,561, company commanders (captains) $114,428 and battalion chiefs $142,917. Those ranks are kept out of the firefighter figures on this page.1
Kentucky fire department pay by rank: firefighter, engineer, captain and battalion chief
Louisville Fire, 2025. Apparatus operators count as engineers and company commanders as captains. Louisville Metro publishes no current range for these ranks. Pay: full-year staff, overtime included.1
| Rank | Positions | Average total pay | Average overtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firefighters | 222 | $84,654 | $29,679 |
| Engineers | 98 | $100,561 | $35,685 |
| Captains | 113 | $114,428 | $39,406 |
| Battalion Chiefs | 24 | $142,917 | $13,900 |
Which Kentucky jobs count as firefighters here, and which don't?
These figures cover Louisville Fire, Louisville Metro's fire department, from Louisville Metro Government's payroll. We decided each title by hand.
Counted
- Firefighters at Louisville Fire. Firefighters on the 56-hour week, every step.
Shown separately or left out
- Apparatus operators, company commanders and battalion chiefs. In the pay by rank table above, not in the firefighter figures. Apparatus operators drive and pump the engine and count as engineers, as elsewhere on the site; company commanders lead a fire company and count as captains.
- Assistant chiefs and the chief, recruits, arson investigators, inspectors and civilian staff.
- Jefferson County's suburban fire districts and other Kentucky fire departments. They're separate employers, not in Louisville Metro's payroll.
Questions about firefighter pay in Kentucky
How much do firefighters make in Kentucky?
Full-year firefighters at Louisville Fire, the Kentucky department covered so far, earned an average of $84,654 in 2025, including $29,679 in overtime. The middle firefighter earned $83,512.
Sources for the Kentucky firefighter figures
Every person who held a firefighter position at any point in 2025 counts toward the headcount. Pay figures use only people who were already on Louisville Metro's payroll in 2024 and whose base pay in 2025 reached at least 90% of their own annual rate. The file has no hours or hire dates, so this is the closest sign of a full year. Firefighters on the 56-hour week are paid part of every regular week as overtime, so for them base pay and overtime together must reach 90% of the annual rate, and their overtime figure includes those scheduled hours. Total pay is gross wages before tax, including overtime, lump sums and other pay. Every figure covers at least 5 people.
- Louisville Metro Government, Louisville Metro KY Employee Salary Data (Louisville Open Data): title, department, annual rate, base pay, overtime, incentive and other pay of every Louisville Metro employee in 2025, and in 2024 to see who was already employed.