Georgia Firefighter Salary 2026 by Department: Thirteen Departments, Their Own Documents

The short answer. There is no single Georgia firefighter salary. Thirteen departments' own documents, read September 8, 2026: nine print an annual figure for a firefighter who has finished the academy or holds a credential, from Columbus's $47,975 Firefighter/AEMT base and Macon-Bibb's $48,946.26 Certified Firefighter/EMT to DeKalb County's $55,692 after graduation, Forsyth County's $58,216.47 Firefighter/AEMT base and Atlanta's $58,677 first sworn tier; ten print a recruit or trainee figure, from Columbus's $42,975 cadet base to Atlanta's $54,613 and DeKalb's $55,000; only Atlanta prints a firefighter step table to the top, $68,691 at fifteen years. Gwinnett prints a trainee range with no post-academy figure, Sandy Springs's careers page and its 2026 pay plan disagree, Clayton prints a recruit minimum only, and Savannah's only 2026 posting is lateral. The registry counts 458 Georgia fire departments, 18.6 percent of them career and 10.5 percent mostly career.

Last verified: 2026-09-08.

The national picture, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics medians beside these department figures, is on the firefighter salary guide 2026.

This is not a statewide table and it is not an apply-now board. One dated window was open on the read date: Forsyth County's Firefighter Recruit posting closes September 25, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Every row records what the department's, city's or county's document prints and nothing more. A recruiting page's single starting figure and a pay plan's grade minimum are not averaged into one "Georgia start."

The Texas comparison, built the same way at a larger N, is Texas firefighter salary 2026 by department. Missouri, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Washington, Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, Colorado and California, built the same way, are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

What do these documents actually show?

Three column definitions, because most published comparisons blur roles, and the blur is where the misleading numbers come from.

• Recruit / academy is a printed pre-certification annual when the employer prints one. Ten rows do: Atlanta $54,613 (Firefighter/Advanced-EMT Recruit, paid during the academy), Gwinnett $51,049 (the Firefighter/Paramedic Trainee range minimum), DeKalb $55,000 (Firefighter Recruit), Columbus $42,975 (Firefighter Cadet base), Macon-Bibb $45,718.26 (Fire Recruit), Athens-Clarke $44,000 (grade FD01), Clayton $53,032.01 (Firefighter Recruit, grade 19 minimum), Forsyth $50,771 (Recruit Firefighter, 38-week program), Marietta $51,000.00 (new hire with no credentials), Henry $44,884.40 (Firefighter I / Recruit).
• Starting (certified) is the first annual figure the document names for a firefighter who has finished the academy or holds the credential the title requires: Atlanta $58,677 (Tier 1, sworn, years 0 to 1), Cobb $55,080 (the page's one starting salary), DeKalb $55,692 (pay following graduation), Columbus $47,975 (Firefighter/AEMT base), Macon-Bibb $48,946.26 (Certified Firefighter/EMT), Athens-Clarke $52,360 (Firefighter/EMT, grade FD02), Forsyth $58,216.47 (Firefighter/AEMT base after graduation), Marietta $52,252.64 (new hire with AEMT or Georgia firefighter certification), Henry $54,557.27 (Firefighter / EMT-I).
• Top firefighter step is the highest printed firefighter-rank annual before promotion. Only Atlanta prints one: $68,691 at Tier 10, fifteen years and after. Gwinnett's $81,733 is the trainee grade's range maximum, carried and labeled as a range rather than a step.
• Source is the document title, the link, the effective date or fiscal year where the document prints one, and the date we read it.
• Every annual figure is base pay where the document separates base from the rest. Columbus adds a $3,121 public safety supplement to each base figure; Forsyth's posted $68,355.76 for a Firefighter/AEMT is the $58,216.47 base plus $7,604.47 of naturally occurring overtime and $2,534.82 of holiday pay, and the base is what the column carries; Sandy Springs builds 148 to 160 hours of overtime into its annual schedule. Paramedic money sits outside the columns: Cobb pays a 10 percent incentive, Marietta $1.25 an hour, Columbus a Firemedic base of $50,500 plus $6,200, Forsyth a Firefighter/Paramedic base of $60,070.58, Henry a Firefighter / Paramedic start of $60,149.39, Gwinnett a Firemedic range of $59,079 to $94,588, Sandy Springs an FF1/PMDC figure of $58,936, and DeKalb prints a single-role Paramedic start of $65,492.

Why isn't there a statewide starting salary?

Because Georgia does not publish one. The Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council certifies firefighters; it does not set their pay, and each city or county writes its own pay plan. Most Georgia departments print a single starting figure on a recruiting page rather than a step table, which is why the recruit and certified columns are full and the top-step column is nearly empty: Atlanta is the only row that prints its progression, and Gwinnett and Sandy Springs print grade ranges whose midpoints and maximums say nothing about how many years a firefighter takes to reach them. Where two of a city's own documents disagree, as Sandy Springs's careers page ($53,636 for FF1/EMT) and its 2026 pay plan ($59,133.69 minimum for Firefighter/EMT 1) do, both are named and neither is carried. The Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, Colorado and California clones use the same rule: null is a value, conflicts are named, and hourly and monthly rates are not converted.

The universe is measured but not yet counted. The U.S. Fire Administration's National Fire Department Registry (state totals read September 8, 2026; registry last updated June 11, 2026) lists 458 registered fire departments in Georgia, 18.6 percent of them Career and 10.5 percent Mostly career. The registry prints those shares as percentages, not as a count, so this page does not turn them into a number of career departments. Thirteen departments against that universe is a kickoff, not a census; Augusta (whose site prints a department page but no current pay document the desk could open), Fulton County (whose only bulletin found is years old), Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Cherokee County, Hall County, Chatham Emergency Services, Albany, Valdosta and Warner Robins are the next documents to open.

Rows to read carefully

Atlanta. The department's Employment page prints $54,613 for recruits during the Training Academy and a ten-tier table for sworn firefighters: $58,677 in years 0 to 1, $59,909, $61,167, $62,451 in years 3 to 5, $63,763, $64,719, $65,690, $66,675, $67,676 in years 13 to 15 and $68,691 from fifteen years. Training is an EMT class of 20 weeks, an Advanced EMT class of 16 and a fire academy of 16; degree, bilingual and paramedic incentives begin on promotion to field operations. There are three recruit classes a year, no lateral or fast-track door, and no ride-alongs.

Gwinnett County. The Salary and Benefits page prints a Firefighter/Paramedic Trainee starting salary of $51,049 to $81,733 and a Firemedic starting salary of $59,079 to $94,588, each with a 3 percent associate or 6 percent bachelor's incentive and a 6 percent special-assignment incentive that stacks. Laterals enter the trainee range. The minimum is carried as the recruit figure and the maximum as a labeled range; no post-academy figure is printed.

Cobb County. The Pay and Benefits page prints one figure, a starting salary of $55,080 on a step and grade scale it does not print, with $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000 annual education incentives and a paramedic and specialty incentive it describes as 10 percent of salary. Laterals are handled case by case.

DeKalb County. The Careers page prints Firefighter Recruit starting pay of $55,000 and pay following graduation of $55,692 after about 36 weeks of training, a Prequalified Firefighter start of $57,750, and single-role EMS starts of $57,750 for an EMT-B, $60,638 for an EMT-A and $65,492 for a Paramedic. The page listed all five requisitions as open on the read date, with a note to allow 30 to 45 days of processing.

Columbus. The Salary and Benefits page prints base salaries beside their supplements: Firefighter Cadet $42,975 base plus $3,121 public safety; Firefighter/AEMT $47,975 base plus $3,121 and $3,300 scheduled overtime; Firemedic $50,500 base plus $3,121, $6,200 medic and $3,500 scheduled overtime; a $5,000 signing bonus and degree bonuses on top. The bases are carried; the supplements are in the notes.

Macon-Bibb County. The county's continuous bulletin prints Fire Recruit $45,718.26 and Certified Firefighter/EMT $48,946.26. It opened March 11, 2019 and carries no effective date for the figures, so the row is marked partial until a dated pay document is read.

Athens-Clarke County. Bulletin 2026-5500 (March 24 to April 20, 2026) prints Recruit grade FD01 at $44,000 and Firefighter/EMT grade FD02 at $52,360, with a $3,000 hiring incentive in three installments and a class starting August 31, 2026. The FY27 Public Safety Step Pay Plan effective July 1, 2026 adds 3 percent to its tables, but its fire rows sit on a page the desk could not read, so the bulletin figures are carried and marked partial.

Sandy Springs. The Firefighter Careers page prints FF1/EMT $53,636, FF1/PMDC $58,936, FF2/EMT $63,070 and FF2/PMDC $67,405 as starting salaries with 148 to 160 overtime hours built into the schedule; the city's 2026 Pay Plan and Job Classification prints Firefighter/EMT 1 at a $59,133.69 minimum, $75,395.45 midpoint and $91,657.22 maximum. The two disagree and neither explains why, so the row stays null with both named. NPQ or IFSAC Firefighter I is required to apply.

Clayton County. The county's Munis job detail for Firefighter Recruit prints a minimum salary of $53,032.01 at grade 19 with an eighteen-month probation; the department's own pay page prints no figures for its Firefighter/EMT and Firefighter/Paramedic doors, so only the recruit column is filled.

Forsyth County. Bulletin 03644 prints Recruit Firefighter at $50,771.00 for the 38-week program and two post-graduation annual salaries that include overtime and holiday pay, $68,355.76 for a Firefighter/AEMT and $70,532.80 for a Firefighter/Paramedic, each itemized: $58,216.47 base plus $7,604.47 plus $2,534.82, and $60,070.58 base plus $7,846.67 plus $2,615.55. The bases are carried. The posting closes September 25, 2026.

Savannah. The only 2026 firefighter bulletin is lateral: grade 602, Step 1 $59,724.00 for two years of prior service, Step 2 $61,216.00 with AEMT or higher. The last entry-level bulletin, in July 2023, printed $45,349 for a trainee, $50,144 after the academy and $58,152 for an Advanced Firefighter. The lateral grade is not an entry figure and the entry figures are three years old, so the row stays null.

Marietta. The Benefits & Compensation page prints Entry level 1 (no credentials) $51,000.00 and Entry level 2 (AEMT or Georgia firefighter certification) $52,252.64, both rising to at least $53,530.13 after the 18-month working test period, with $1.25 an hour for paramedic licensure and lateral hires at an unprinted market rate. The page loads its figures with a script, so a plain fetch shows none of them; the desk read it in a browser.

Henry County. The Join Our Team page prints beginning salaries of $44,884.40 for Firefighter I / Recruit, $54,557.27 for Firefighter / EMT-I and $60,149.39 for Firefighter / Paramedic, and says applications are accepted continuously at the county administration building.

Which application doors are open today?

• Forsyth County: Firefighter Recruit posting 03644, for applicants with no fire or EMS experience, opened July 21, 2026 and closes September 25, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern; the process runs an Accuplacer cognitive exam, a personal history questionnaire, the physical agility test, a conditional offer, background, deception detection, psychological evaluation, interview and medical.
• Clayton County: Firefighter Recruit posted July 21, 2026 with no closing date, beside Firefighter/EMT, Firefighter/Paramedic and single-role Paramedic requisitions.
• DeKalb County: five requisitions listed as open on the read date, with 30 to 45 days of processing after application.
• Henry County accepts applications continuously; Macon-Bibb's recruit bulletin is continuous; Atlanta opens application periods for each of its three annual classes and posts the requisition on the city's careers site when one is open.
• Athens-Clarke (March 24 to April 20, 2026) and Savannah's lateral window (June 1 to June 30, 2026) have closed; Savannah's Fire Engineer and Fire Captain promotional postings ran August 17 through September 11, 2026.
• Gwinnett, Cobb, Columbus, Sandy Springs, Marietta: pay pages only; each routes applicants to its jobs site or a recruiter, and no dated window was printed.