Tennessee Firefighter Salary 2026 by Department: Fourteen Departments, Their Own Documents

The short answer. There is no single Tennessee firefighter salary. Across the fourteen departments read September 9, 2026, twelve print a certified start, and they run from Kingsport's $45,395.17 (April 2026 bulletin) and Jackson's $46,801.80 to Knoxville's $48,861.95 (2025), Clarksville's $52,347 after the academy, Collierville's $53,537 (Firefighter/EMT), Hendersonville's $54,569.00 (2025 packet), Memphis's $55,512.60 (probationary EMT), Chattanooga's $57,646.67 (FY27 plan), Franklin's $60,632, Murfreesboro's $60,934.50 (FY27 step 1), Brentwood's $62,392 (FY2027 range minimum) and Nashville's $65,741 (Fire Fighter 1, FY2027 plan). Nine print recruit-school pay, from Clarksville's $43,066 to Nashville's $62,714. The printed firefighter tops run from Hendersonville's $77,106.00 (2025 range) to Nashville's $96,408 (Fire Fighter 2, step 15). No application window was dated open on the read date: Chattanooga's closed May 1, 2026, Kingsport's May 31, 2026 and Nashville's February 17, 2026; Collierville's two postings stay open until filled and Jackson tests monthly through October 15, 2026. The registry counts 636 Tennessee fire departments, 8.5 percent of them career and 4.7 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. Tennessee's career departments are city departments whose pay sits in a council-adopted pay plan or salary table, and whose recruiting pages restate one or two figures from it. This page carries the figure each department's own plan, page, bulletin or packet prints, with the document and the read date, and nothing else. A recruiting post on social media, a news story about a raise and a salary aggregator are not sources here. When a department's own two documents disagree and neither is dated to the current year, the row stays null with both figures in the notes; when a document is a year or more old, the row carries it and says so.

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, 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. Nine rows do: Nashville $62,714 (Provisional Fire Recruit, grade FD01, FY2027 plan), Memphis $47,135.14 (Recruit), Knoxville $45,838.89 (Recruit Firefighter during the 18-week academy, 2025), Chattanooga $51,933.94 (Cadet, FD.0C, FY27 plan), Clarksville $43,066 (beginning salary), Franklin $57,200 (Fire Cadet), Brentwood $57,739 (Firefighter-Recruit, Group A minimum, FY2027), Collierville $48,560 (FF Recruit with no certifications), Hendersonville $51,940.00 (uncertified firefighter, 2025 packet).
• Starting (certified) is the first annual figure the document names for a firefighter past the academy or for a certified hire: Nashville $65,741 (Fire Fighter 1, FD02, six-month probation), Memphis $55,512.60 (Probationary EMT), Knoxville $48,861.95 (Firefighter after the academy, 2025), Chattanooga $57,646.67 (Firefighter, FD.1A entry), Clarksville $52,347 (on graduating the academy), Murfreesboro $60,934.50 (Firefighter, grade 505, step 1), Franklin $60,632 (Certified Firefighter), Jackson $46,801.80, Kingsport $45,395.17 (bulletin 2026-4-1), Brentwood $62,392 (Firefighter, Group B minimum), Collierville $53,537 (FF/EMT), Hendersonville $54,569.00 (certified, 2025 packet).
• Top firefighter step is the highest printed firefighter-rank annual before promotion: Nashville $96,408 (Fire Fighter 2, FD03 step 15; Fire Fighter 3 and Fire Fighter/Paramedic sit on FD04, $76,050 to $106,488), Chattanooga $82,316.13 (Firefighter at Year 20; Senior Firefighter runs to $95,230.40 at Year 24), Murfreesboro $83,998.86 (step 14), Brentwood $90,475 (Group B maximum, a range), Hendersonville $77,106.00 (2025 range maximum).
• 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 and AEMT pay sits outside the columns: Memphis prints $57,980.26 for a Probationary AEMT and $69,560.14 for a Fire Fighter Paramedic; Murfreesboro's Firefighter Paramedic grade runs $67,260.28 to $92,719.02; Nashville's Fire Fighter/Paramedic grade starts at $76,050; Collierville prints $69,550 for a Paramedic/FF Recruit and $73,028 to $82,193 for FF/Paramedic I through V; Franklin adds $11,500 a year for paramedics and $5,000 for AEMTs; Knoxville adds $8,000, $3,750 and $1,000 for paramedic, AEMT and EMT-B. Hendersonville adds 2.5, 5 and 7.5 percent of base for associate, bachelor's and master's degrees.

Why isn't there a statewide starting salary?

Because Tennessee does not set one. Each city adopts its own pay plan, and the plans are built differently: Nashville's Metro plan runs by grade with 2 percent steps (FD01 for the recruit, FD02 for the probationary Fire Fighter 1, FD03 for Fire Fighter 2); Chattanooga's fire plan runs by rank and year of service; Murfreesboro's public safety table by grade and step; Brentwood's by group with a minimum, midpoint and maximum; Franklin, Collierville and Memphis print one figure per entry point on their recruiting sites. Knoxville, Jackson and Johnson City hire through civil service exams, Hendersonville from an eligibility list built by a written exam and an agility test, and Nashville once a year from an eligibility register. Two rows stay null: Johnson City's careers page prints no salary and the city's job list carried no fire posting on the read date, and Germantown's employment page ($64,092.25 to $73,488.40) and the 2024 bulletin it links as the application ($70,661.43 to $79,485.37) print different Firefighter/Paramedic ranges. The Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, 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 636 registered fire departments in Tennessee, 8.5 percent of them Career and 4.7 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. Fourteen departments against it is a kickoff, not a census; the next documents to open are Bartlett's next posting (the city's job board was empty on the read date), Cleveland's current pay plan (only the FY18 classification plan is posted), Hendersonville's class-to-grade list for its FY2027 tables, and the pay pages of Smyrna, Gallatin, Columbia, Oak Ridge, Cookeville, Bristol, Morristown and Shelby County Fire.

Rows to read carefully

Nashville. The FY2027 pay plan, effective July 1, 2026, prints Fire Recruit (FD01) $62,714 for the academy, Fire Fighter 1 (FD02) $65,741 for the six-month probation, Fire Fighter 2 (FD03) from $68,851 to $96,408 across fifteen 2 percent steps, and Fire Fighter 3 and Fire Fighter/Paramedic (FD04) from $76,050 to $106,488. Bulletin C07 FY25 (February 3 through 17, 2026) and the 2026 brochure print $61,665.00, the recruit rate in force before the July 1 plan. Applications are taken once a year, usually at the start of the year; applicants must be 21 and citizens at hire, and a Tennessee AEMT licence and Firefighter 2 are preferred.

Memphis. The department's recruiting site prints starting pay by title: Recruit $47,135.14, Probationary EMT $55,512.60, Probationary AEMT $57,980.26, Fire Fighter Paramedic $69,560.14. Recruits complete a 13-week paid academy and a 12-month probation as Fire Private I; applicants must be at least 19 by the class start and no older than 45 at hire.

Knoxville. The department's page prints its 2025 base salaries: Recruit Firefighter $45,838.89 during the 18-week academy, Firefighter $48,861.95 after it, Senior Firefighter $52,084.38 after two years by noncompetitive promotion, with a 2.5 percent July increase contingent on council approval. Carried and marked partial for the 2025 date. The first responder supplement adds $1,000, $3,750 or $8,000 a year by EMS licence. The civil service page said it was not accepting Firefighter Recruit applications on the read date.

Chattanooga. The FY27 Fire Pay Plan, public on the city's pay-plans page, prints Cadet $51,933.94, Firefighter $57,646.67 at entry rising by year to $82,316.13 at Year 20, Staff Firefighter $61,646.67, and Senior Firefighter from $64,719.92 at Year 2 to $95,230.40 at Year 24. The 2027 academy window ran March 1 through May 1, 2026; the academy begins October 2, 2026. Applicants must be 18 at application and under 40 at academy completion.

Clarksville. The department's employment page prints a beginning salary of $43,066 that rises to $52,347 on graduating the academy, and said it was not taking applications on the read date. The agility test is the IOS Fireground Physical Ability Test.

Murfreesboro. The public safety salary table effective July 1, 2026 (revised August 23, 2026) prints Firefighter from $60,934.50 at step 1 to $83,998.86 at step 14, Firefighter Paramedic from $67,260.28 to $92,719.02 and Fire Engineer from $74,242.76. The step interval is not printed. The last fire bulletin read, 1103937, ran August 1 through 15, 2025 for certified Firefighter I paramedics.

Franklin. The recruiting site prints $57,200 for a Fire Cadet and $60,632 for a Certified Firefighter, plus $11,500 a year for paramedics and $5,000 for AEMTs. Cadets attend a 20-week paid academy and must hold a Tennessee EMT licence within two years; laterals need Firefighter I and II, a documented 320-hour academy and an EMS licence.

Jackson. The department's site and the city's career page both print $46,801.80 to start, for entry-level and lateral hires alike, with automatic annual steps. Recruitment runs on a monthly calendar: open houses September 15 and October 13, 2026 and agility tests September 17 and October 15, 2026, with the written exam given right after the agility test.

Johnson City. Null. The careers page describes the civil service exam and agility test and prints no salary; the city's ApplicantPro list carried twelve openings and no firefighter posting on September 9, 2026.

Kingsport. Bulletin 2026-4-1 (April 1 through May 31, 2026) prints $15.59 an hour and $45,395.17 a year for Firefighter, with compensation set by experience and certifications; bulletin 2025-6-23 (June 23 through July 11, 2025) printed $48,065.47 for the same title. The later bulletin is carried, the earlier figure is named, and the row is marked partial because the city's own two postings disagree. Firefighter I and EMT-B are required within 12 months of hire.

Germantown. Null. The department's employment page prints a Firefighter/Paramedic career development plan range of $64,092.25 to $73,488.40; the city bulletin it links as the application, opened January 30, 2024, prints $70,661.43 to $79,485.37 for the same plan. Both ranges are named and neither is carried. A Tennessee paramedic licence is required at hire; firefighter certification follows on the job.

Brentwood. The FY 2027 fire classification and pay plan prints Firefighter-Recruit (Group A) at a $57,739 minimum, Firefighter (Group B) from $62,392 to $90,475, Fire Engineer/Driver from $67,065 to $97,237 and Fire Lieutenant from $82,327 to $119,365. Recruit minimums include 60 semester hours of college credit, or 30 hours plus two years as a paid firefighter, and age 21.

Collierville. The careers page prints pay by certification at hire, from $48,560 for an uncertified FF Recruit and $53,537 for a FF/EMT to $69,550 for a Paramedic/FF Recruit, and transition scales for experienced hires (FF/AEMT I through V $61,991 to $76,040; FF/Paramedic I through V $73,028 to $82,193). Two postings were open until filled on the read date. Hires must live within two hours of the town.

Hendersonville. The March/April 2025 packet prints a base range of $51,940.00 to $77,106.00, with $51,940.00 for an uncertified firefighter and $54,569.00 at Certified Firefighter level. Carried and marked partial for age. The city's FY2027 salary tables print fire grades FR14 and up by step (FR14 $57,885.36 at step 1, $60,815.76 at step 3, where certified hires start) without naming the class on each grade, so the tables are not carried until the city's class list is read.

Which application doors are open today?

• No Tennessee row carries a dated open window on September 9, 2026. Chattanooga's 2027 academy window closed May 1, 2026; Kingsport's bulletin closed May 31, 2026; Nashville's February 17, 2026; Murfreesboro's paramedic bulletin August 15, 2025; Hendersonville's packet April 17, 2025.
• Collierville lists two postings open until filled (Firefighter-Paramedic JN25-74CF and Paramedic/Firefighter Recruit JN25-90CF). Jackson holds open houses September 15 and October 13, 2026 and agility tests September 17 and October 15, 2026.
• Knoxville and Clarksville said they were not taking firefighter applications on the read date; Nashville takes an interest card for its once-a-year period; Memphis, Franklin, Brentwood, Germantown, Kingsport and Johnson City post on their city job sites, and Brentwood notifies applicants on file when a test date is set.