Michigan Firefighter Salary 2026 by Department: Fifteen Departments, Their Own Documents

The short answer. There is no single Michigan firefighter salary. Across the fifteen departments read September 9, 2026, twelve print a certified start, and they run from Saginaw's $44,668 and Detroit's $45,994 (Firefighter EMT after the academy) to Lansing's $54,308 (after the academy), Sterling Heights' $55,000 (Firefighter EMT-B, 2025 first step), Sault Ste. Marie's $55,230.36 (July 2025), Grand Rapids' $55,401.00 (2026 posting), Southfield's $57,208.00 (posting minimum), Kalamazoo's $59,426.64 (experienced Firefighter I and II hire), Livonia's $59,654.40 (2025 posting minimum), Canton Township's $63,067 (2026 contract base), Dearborn's $66,537 (July 2024) and Royal Oak's $71,008.91 (posting minimum). Three print recruit or student pay: Lansing $41,600, Detroit $43,043 and Kalamazoo $53,093.04. The printed tops run from Saginaw's $68,298 at five years to Kalamazoo's $92,907.36 (2026 top pay). One window is dated: Flint's Firefighter/EMT Trainee bulletin is open through October 1, 2026, and it prints only an hourly rate, so that row's annual columns stay empty. Ann Arbor and Battle Creek print no salary and stay null. The registry counts 976 Michigan fire departments, 9.5 percent of them career and 4.9 percent mostly career.

Last verified: 2026-09-09.

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. Michigan's career departments hire, for the most part, certified Firefighter I and II paramedics through a city job bulletin or a civil service eligibility list, and the bulletin is usually the only place the city prints the pay; Detroit, Flint and Grand Rapids are the exceptions that hire uncertified recruits and train them. This page carries the figure each department's own bulletin, packet, page or class specification prints, with the document and the read date, and nothing else. A recruiting post on social media, a union's page and a salary aggregator are not sources here. Where a city's own two documents disagree, both are named; where a bulletin prints only an hourly rate, the rate is named and not multiplied.

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, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, 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. Three rows do: Detroit $43,043 (Firefighter EMT Student or Firefighter Paramedic Student, bulletin 20252322001DFDssl), Lansing $41,600 (Firefighter/Trainee), Kalamazoo $53,093.04 (Public Safety Officer recruit, wages effective January 1, 2025). Flint's 2026 trainee bulletin prints $15.91 an hour and no annual, so its cell stays empty.
• Starting (certified) is the first annual figure the document names for a firefighter past the academy or for a certified hire: Detroit $45,994 (Firefighter EMT merged role after the academy), Grand Rapids $55,401.00 (2026 posting), Lansing $54,308 (Firefighter/EMT after the academy, flyer), Sterling Heights $55,000 (Firefighter EMT-B, 2025 first step), Dearborn $66,537 (as of July 1, 2024), Livonia $59,654.40 (2025 posting minimum), Southfield $57,208.00 (continuous posting minimum), Kalamazoo $59,426.64 (experienced Firefighter I and II hire with an MFR licence, less than a year of service), Saginaw $44,668, Canton Township $63,067 (2026 contract base), Royal Oak $71,008.91 (posting minimum), Sault Ste. Marie $55,230.36 (as of July 1, 2025).
• Top firefighter step is the highest printed firefighter-rank annual before promotion: Lansing $80,385 (range maximum), Sterling Heights $80,000 (2025 scale after five years; the packet also prints a 2028 last-step rate of $83,242), Dearborn $85,532 (after 48 months), Livonia $82,222.40 (range maximum), Southfield $87,654.00 (range maximum), Kalamazoo $92,907.36 (2026 top pay), Saginaw $68,298 (top of range in five years), Royal Oak $87,571.32 (range maximum). Detroit's 2023 bulletin printed $66,868.00 as the Firefighter/EMT maximum after four years; the 2025-2026 bulletin prints no maximum, so that cell stays empty.
• 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 as the document prints it. Paramedic pay sits outside the columns: Detroit prints $48,648 for the Firefighter Paramedic merged role; Sterling Heights runs a separate Firefighter Paramedic scale from $70,000 (2025 first step) to $102,000 on the 2025 scale and $106,134 at the 2028 last step, on a 56-hour week; Lansing pays $350 per 24-hour shift when a certified paramedic is assigned to the ambulance and a $5,000 signing bonus for a paramedic licence; Kalamazoo prints a $15,000 lateral bonus and a $5,000 annual residency bonus; Dearborn, Livonia, Canton, Royal Oak and Sault Ste. Marie require the paramedic licence at hire, so their starting figures are paramedic figures.

Why isn't there a statewide starting salary?

Because Michigan does not set one. Each city bargains its firefighter pay under Act 312 and publishes the result where it chooses: Sterling Heights in a recruitment packet with the wage scale, Canton Township and Saginaw on a recruiting page, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Dearborn, Livonia, Southfield, Royal Oak and Flint on the city job bulletin, Kalamazoo on the class specification for its combined police and fire Public Safety Officer, and Lansing on a recruiting flyer. Several of those documents are dated to an earlier year (Dearborn's July 2024 rates, Livonia's 2025 posting, Sault Ste. Marie's July 2025 wage, Kalamazoo's January 2025 starting wages), and those rows say so. Grand Rapids' 2026 posting ($55,401.00) and the 2024 class specification its recruiting site links as the current rate ($58,171.00 to $88,874.00) disagree at the bottom of the range; the dated 2026 posting is carried and the specification is named. Ann Arbor's job board carried 34 openings and no fire posting on the read date and its recruit packet prints no pay; Battle Creek's career page says the next eligibility list process begins in spring 2027. The Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, 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 976 registered fire departments in Michigan, 9.5 percent of them Career and 4.9 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. Fifteen departments against it is a kickoff, not a census; the next documents to open are Warren's Firefighter/EMT posting when the city lists it (the city job list carried none on the read date), Ann Arbor's next Fire Recruit posting and the IAFF Local 5233 agreement, and the pages of Farmington Hills, Westland, Taylor, Troy, Waterford Regional, Wyoming, Portage and Pontiac.

Rows to read carefully

Detroit. The 2025-2026 bulletin (November 10, 2025 through January 29, 2026) prints $43,043.00 for a Firefighter EMT or Paramedic Student and, on completing the academy, $45,994.00 for the Firefighter EMT merged role or $48,648.00 for the Firefighter Paramedic merged role. The 2023 bulletin printed a $39,390.00 start and four-year maximums of $66,868.00 and $70,726.00. The city builds a list every two years or as the budget allows; recruits complete about five months of paid academy, and residents get 15 points.

Grand Rapids. Posting 201-0326 (March 1 through May 31, 2026) prints $55,401.00 for Firefighter and built a list for the academy anticipated to start January 4, 2027. The class 201 specification (revised January 11, 2024) prints $58,171.00 to $88,874.00; both are named, the posting is carried. An EMS licence at EMT level or above is required of every GRFD firefighter.

Lansing. The department's flyer prints $41,600 for a Firefighter/Trainee and $54,308 to $80,385 for Firefighter/EMT or Firefighter/Paramedic after the academy, with a $5,000 paramedic signing bonus; the October 2024 certified-paramedic bulletin printed $55,181.97 to $81,678.48 and a $350.00 ambulance incentive per shift. Both are named and the row is marked partial. Applications are accepted until filled.

Ann Arbor. Null. The city's job board carried 34 openings and none in fire on September 9, 2026; the recruit process packet prints the requirements (18, a diploma, a licence, and fifteen college credits, a DD-214 or an EMPCO score of 75 percent) and no salary.

Sterling Heights. The 2025-2026 Firefighter EMT-B packet prints $55,000 at the 2025 first step, $80,000 after five years on the 2025 scale and $83,242 at the 2028 last step, on a 40-hour week; the Firefighter Paramedic packet prints $70,000 to $102,000 on the 2025 scale and $106,134 at the 2028 last step, on 24-hour shifts. Prior IAFF experience places a hire up to four steps higher. An Empco score was required as of December 28, 2025 and the lists stand two years.

Dearborn. Bulletin 02029-24-3 (November 20 through December 4, 2024) prints $66,537 as of July 1, 2024, $85,532 after 48 months, and lateral steps of $70,069, $73,591 and $77,115. Carried and marked partial for the 2024 date. A Michigan paramedic licence and Firefighter I and II are required.

Livonia. Bulletin 1056at (March 14 through June 12, 2025) prints $59,654.40 to $82,222.40 with the entrance salary set by experience. Carried as a range and marked partial. A paramedic licence (or six months from graduation), a CWW or EMPCO written score and a CPAT are required.

Flint. Null in the annual columns. Bulletin 26-00037B (August 6 through October 1, 2026) prints $15.91 an hour for a Firefighter/EMT Trainee and no annual figure; the 2023-2024 bulletin printed $15.00 an hour and $39,312.00 a year. The agility test runs October 20 through 22, 2026 and the academy begins January 19, 2027.

Southfield. Bulletin 20230034 (opened July 23, 2025, continuous) prints $57,208.00 to $87,654.00 for Firefighter-EMT; all hires start there and move to paramedic under the contract as positions open. Firefighter I and II are required when the list is established.

Kalamazoo. A combined police and fire department. The Public Safety Officer class specification (revised February 4, 2025) prints starting wages effective January 1, 2025 of $53,093.04 for recruits and $59,426.64 to $68,708.64 for experienced officers or Firefighter I and II hires by years of service, a range of $62,452.08 to $79,907.76, and top pay of $92,907.36 in 2026. Recruits are paid through the police, fire and MFR academies; applicants must be 21.

Saginaw. The city's page prints a current starting salary of $44,668 and a top of range of $68,298 reached in five years; no prior training is required and workdays are 24 hours, ten a month.

Canton Township. The township's page prints a 2026 contract base salary of $63,067 for a Firefighter/Paramedic, rising to $75,169 after one year, with a MERS 2.5 percent pension at 25 years and 100 percent tuition reimbursement through a master's degree.

Battle Creek. Null. The career page prints the civil service route and says the next Entry-Level Firefighter Eligibility List process is expected to begin in spring 2027.

Royal Oak. Posting 202400004 (opened June 1, 2026, no closing date printed) prints $71,008.91 to $87,571.32; Firefighter I and II, a paramedic licence, a CPAT within 12 months and an EMPCO score are required at hire.

Sault Ste. Marie. The city's closed posting prints $55,230.36 for a Firefighter/Paramedic and $44,727.59 for a paramedic who can obtain Fire I and II, both as of July 1, 2025, under the 2024-2027 union contract; carried and marked partial for the date. Residence within 20 miles is required within 30 days.

Which application doors are open today?

• Flint takes Firefighter/EMT Trainee applications through October 1, 2026 (bulletin 26-00037B); the agility test runs October 20 through 22 and the academy begins January 19, 2027.
• Royal Oak's posting has been open since June 1, 2026 with no closing date printed; Southfield's Firefighter-EMT posting is continuous; Lansing accepts applications until filled; Kalamazoo takes certified officers and firefighters at any time and recruits during posted periods.
• Grand Rapids (May 31, 2026), Detroit (January 29, 2026), Sterling Heights (Empco score by December 28, 2025), Livonia (June 12, 2025) and Dearborn (December 4, 2024) have closed their last postings and hire from the lists they built; Battle Creek expects its next list process in spring 2027; Saginaw keeps a notification list; Ann Arbor had no fire posting on the read date; Sault Ste. Marie's posting is marked closed.