Pennsylvania Firefighter Salary 2026 by Department: Thirteen Cities, Their Own Documents

The short answer. There is no single Pennsylvania firefighter salary, and in Pennsylvania the gap is not arithmetic but silence: five of the thirteen civil-service cities read on September 8, 2026 print no salary anywhere on their own pages. Where a figure is printed, it runs from York's $43,993.58 first year (2026 column of the 2023-2027 agreement) and Williamsport's $46,519 (2024) to Reading's $53,650.97 (2024), Pittsburgh's $53,551.68 first year (rates updated March 27, 2026), Lancaster's $59,886 (2026 range) and Easton's $60,226 (2024 schedule); Philadelphia prints $64,982 for a recruit in the academy and a present maximum of $90,253; the printed tops run to York's $86,052.60 at year six and Lancaster's $85,552. Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre, Allentown, Bethlehem and Scranton print the process and no pay, so their rows stay null. No application window was open on the read date. The registry counts 1,765 Pennsylvania fire departments, 2.4 percent of them career and 1.1 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. Pennsylvania's Third Class City Code cities hire firefighters from civil service eligibility lists built every year or two, and most of them publish the test notice without the pay; the pay sits in a union agreement or a council salary resolution, and this page carries a figure only when one of those documents, or the city's own recruiting page, prints it. A union's social post and a newspaper's summary are not sources here. Every row records what the city's document prints and nothing more.

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, 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: Philadelphia $64,982 (a firefighter recruit in the nine-month Fire Academy), Pittsburgh $53,560.00 (Firefighter Recruit, $25.75 an hour), Easton $42,158 (Recruit I on the 2024 schedule, with Recruit II at $54,203).
• Starting (certified) is the first annual figure the document names for a firefighter past the academy or in the first year of the rank: Pittsburgh $53,551.68 (Firefighter 1st Year), Erie $48,004 (as of 2023), Lancaster $59,886 (2026 range minimum), Reading $53,650.97 (entry level through the 12-month probation, as of January 1, 2024), York $43,993.58 (Year 1, 2026, hired on or after January 1, 2018), Easton $60,226 (Firefighter 1st year, 2024), Williamsport $46,519 (probationary firefighter, 2024).
• Top firefighter step is the highest printed firefighter-rank annual before promotion: Philadelphia's present maximum $90,253, Pittsburgh's Firefighter 4th Year $81,572.40 (Master Firefighter, the next title on the table, prints $85,263.36), Erie's Class A Firefighter after 48 months $80,007 (2023), Lancaster's range maximum $85,552, York's Year 6 $86,052.60 (2026), Easton's Firefighter 5th year $84,646 (2024).
• 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. Longevity sits outside the columns (York adds 2.5 percent at five years rising to 12.5 percent; Erie adds an increment from year five), as do certification and degree stipends (Erie's EMT and Firefighter I and II pay; Easton's $600, $1,000 and $1,500 degree stipends; Reading's $1,500 paramedic bonus). Reading's single-role paramedic classification is hourly and is not multiplied here.

Why isn't there a statewide starting salary?

Because Pennsylvania does not publish one, and because its cities publish less than most states. Under the Third Class City Code and Philadelphia's and Pittsburgh's own charters, each city's civil service commission runs a test, builds a list and hires from it; the pay is set by an Act 111 agreement with the local, and most cities post the test notice and the application packet without the wage article. Of the thirteen cities read, six print pay on a recruiting page or in a salary resolution, one prints it only in the agreement (York), and five print none: Harrisburg's 2025 packet is a notarized application with a $50 fee and a June 13, 2025 deadline; Wilkes-Barre's commission notice sets a May 15, 2026 application and testing deadline and a top-25 agility cut; Allentown's civil service page carried only the police application; Bethlehem's Apply Now page says applications are closed; Scranton's page explains the list and the HACC academy. Those rows stay null. The Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Tennessee, Virginia, 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 1,765 registered fire departments in Pennsylvania, 2.4 percent of them Career and 1.1 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; with roughly nine in ten Pennsylvania departments volunteer, the career universe is small and concentrated in the cities on this page. Thirteen departments against it is a kickoff, not a census; the next documents to open are the Wilkes-Barre Local 104 agreement, the Scranton and Allentown agreements, Chester's civil service posting when it reopens, Lower Paxton Township's own pay ordinance, and the 2025 Easton and Williamsport contracts once they are signed and posted.

Rows to read carefully

Philadelphia. The city's page prints $64,982 for a firefighter recruit in the academy, a raise on graduation whose amount is not printed, and scheduled increases to a present maximum of $90,253. The department last recruited July 8 through August 31, 2025; applicants must have lived in the city for a year before appointment, hold a Pennsylvania licence, and be 18 at hire. The fire service paramedic page prints the same $64,982 first-year figure with a $99,276 maximum.

Pittsburgh. The Salary & Benefits page, last updated March 27, 2026, prints the whole progression: Recruit $53,560.00, 1st Year $53,551.68, 2nd Year $62,964.72, 3rd Year $72,421.44, 4th Year $81,572.40, Master Firefighter $85,263.36. The 4th-year figure is carried as the top firefighter step and Master Firefighter is named. The 2024 bulletin printed lower academy and first-year figures; the 2026 page replaces them. Residency within 60 minutes of the City-County Building; ten, five and three preference points for veterans, Pittsburgh Public Schools graduates and city residents.

Erie. The Benefits page prints $48,004 to start and $80,007 after 48 months for a Class A Firefighter, both as of 2023, with increases at 12, 24 and 48 months. Carried and marked partial for age. Testing runs in odd-numbered years; the schedule is 24 on, 72 off.

Lancaster. The bureau's careers site prints a 2026 range of $59,886 to $85,552 plus longevity, education, certification and incentive pay under the agreement. The ends of the range are carried and labeled a range; the 2025 recruitment opened April 1, 2025.

Reading. The city's page, dated January 1, 2024, prints an entry level salary of $53,650.97 through the 12-month probation on a two-day, two-night, four-off platoon schedule. Carried and marked partial for age. The paramedic classification is hourly, from a $23.81 trainee to $34.09 at Paramedic V.

York. The 2023-2027 agreement prints the schedule for firefighters hired on or after January 1, 2018: 2026 Year 1 $43,993.58, Year 2 $52,405.39, Year 3 $60,817.19, Year 4 $69,228.99, Year 5 $77,640.79, Year 6 $86,052.60, with 3 percent added each year. The department's career page prints the same 2026 start. Applications closed January 30, 2026; the workweek averages 42 hours.

Easton. The December 13, 2023 salary resolution prints the 2024 fire schedule from Recruit I $42,158 and Recruit II $54,203 through Firefighter 1st year $60,226 to 5th year $84,646. The June 11, 2025 resolution prints the fire section with the note that the fire contract expired December 2024 and no firefighter figures, so the 2024 schedule is carried and marked partial.

Williamsport. The 2025 recruiting flyer prints the 2024 annual starting salary of $46,519 for a probationary firefighter and says Local 736 was negotiating a new contract. The Civil Service Board tests every two years (2025, 2027); the 2025 deadline was May 30, 2025 with a $25 fee. Carried and marked partial.

Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre, Allentown, Bethlehem, Scranton. Null. Each city's own page or packet prints the process and no pay: Harrisburg's 19-page 2025 application packet (age 19, $50 fee, in person by June 13, 2025); Wilkes-Barre's commission notice (notarized application and a $65 National Testing Network exam by May 15, 2026, top 25 scores to the agility test, a two-year certified list, city residency within a year after probation); Allentown's civil service page (police only on the read date); Bethlehem's Apply Now page (applications closed, eligibility list up to two years); Scranton's department page (civil service list, HACC academy, EMT and Firefighter I during training).

Which application doors are open today?

• None of the thirteen had an open application window on September 8, 2026. Wilkes-Barre's 2026 filing and testing deadline was May 15, 2026; Philadelphia's last period closed August 31, 2025; York's closed January 30, 2026; Harrisburg's packet was due June 13, 2025; Williamsport's May 30, 2025; Lancaster's 2025 cycle opened April 1, 2025; Bethlehem's applications are closed.
• Erie tests in odd-numbered years and Williamsport in 2025, 2027 and 2029; Pittsburgh posts on the city's GovernmentJobs site and takes an interest card; Philadelphia and Bethlehem take interest forms; Lancaster, Reading, Scranton, Allentown and Easton post civil service announcements on their city sites.