Washington Firefighter Salary 2026 by Department: Twelve Departments, Their Own Documents

The short answer. There is no single Washington firefighter salary, and Washington is the state where the monthly-salary rule bites: its agreements print pay by the month, and this page does not multiply a monthly rate into an annual figure the employer never printed. Twelve departments' own documents, read September 8, 2026: five print an annual figure for a firefighter, from Spokane's $67,254.48 class minimum and Central Pierce's $87,540 probationary firefighter to Vancouver's $95,088 and Olympia's $95,385.53 (a Firefighter/Paramedic recruit) and Anacortes's $93,762.04; Seattle prints $102,048 for a Fire Recruit and monthly rates after that; Tacoma's posted agreement expired; Bellevue, Everett, Bellingham and Shoreline print monthly only; East County Fire and Rescue prints two 2025 tables that disagree. The registry counts 403 Washington fire departments, 11.9 percent of them career and 10.4 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 or opening on the read date: Seattle's entry-level application period runs October 6 through November 17, 2026. Every row records what the department's or city's document prints and nothing more. A 2024 monthly chart and a 2026 annual schedule are not averaged into one "Washington 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, Georgia, 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. Seattle does: $102,048 a year for a Fire Recruit, the only annual figure on its benefits page. No other row prints a recruit annual.
• Starting (certified) is the first annual firefighter figure the document names: Spokane's Firefighter class minimum ($67,254.48), Vancouver's Firefighter start ($95,088, as of December 31, 2025), Olympia's Firefighter/Paramedic Step 1-Recruit ($95,385.53, 2026), Anacortes's Step 1 hiring rate ($93,762.04, 2026), Central Pierce's probationary firefighter ($87,540, 2026).
• Top firefighter step is the highest printed firefighter-rank annual before promotion: Spokane $116,129.98, Vancouver's Firefighter/EMT range top $129,792, Olympia's Firefighter/Paramedic range top $135,924, Anacortes Step 5 $106,547.77, Central Pierce 1st Class $120,048.
• 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, with one labeled exception: Olympia prints only a Firefighter/Paramedic range, so that is the range carried and the label says so. Elsewhere paramedic money sits outside the columns: Central Pierce pays 12 percent above the firefighter level, Everett 17 percent above first class, Seattle 17 to 18.5 percent, Anacortes 10 to 12 percent.

Why isn't there a statewide starting salary?

Because Washington does not publish one, and because most of its agreements do not print an annual number at all. Bellevue's chart, Everett's progression, Bellingham's structure and Shoreline's scale are monthly; Seattle's steps after the recruit year are monthly; the annual figures on this page come from the handful of documents that print them (Anacortes and Central Pierce in their schedules, Spokane in its class specifications, Vancouver and Olympia on city pages). Turning $9,819 a month into a salary would be our arithmetic, and the number would depend on whether the department pays twelve equal months or something else. The Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Tennessee, Virginia, Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, Colorado and California clones use the same rule: null is a value, conflicts are named, and monthly and hourly 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 403 registered fire departments in Washington, 11.9 percent of them Career and 10.4 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. Twelve departments against that universe is a kickoff, not a census; Tacoma's 2026 agreement, the Valley Regional Fire Authority (whose 2026-2028 agreement raises its 2025 scale 7 percent a year but whose grid was not read cleanly), Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority, Renton, South King Fire, Snohomish Regional Fire, Spokane Valley, Kitsap and Yakima are the next documents to open.

Rows to read carefully

Seattle. The department's benefits page prints a starting salary of $102,048 a year for a Fire Recruit and then monthly rates: $8,504 to start, $9,010 at 6 months, $9,517 at 18 months, $10,023 at 30 months, $10,529 at 42 months. The recruit annual is carried; the steps are monthly and stay out of the annual columns. The Local 27 agreement runs through December 31, 2026 and raises pay each December by the Seattle-area CPI-W within a floor and a cap. No EMT is needed to apply; a Washington EMT card is needed before recruit school. The next application window is October 6 through November 17, 2026, for a register built in March 2027 and a first class in August 2027.

Spokane. The city's class specification list prints annual ranges: Firefighter $67,254.48 to $116,129.98, beside two related classes, Firefighter 2088 ($67,254.48 to $90,180.72) and Firefighter 2192 ($101,879.56 to $116,129.98), whose designations the list does not explain. The Firefighter class range is carried as printed. The city's labor page still lists the 2020-2024 Local 29 agreement.

Tacoma. The city's bargaining page, marked current as of September 8, 2026, lists the Local 31 agreement for 2023-2025. It expired December 31, 2025; no successor is posted. The row stays null rather than carrying an expired schedule as a current start.

Vancouver. The city's page prints a Firefighter start of $95,088 and a Firefighter/EMT range to $129,792, and a Firefighter/Paramedic start of $113,112 to $147,828, all as of December 31, 2025 under the 2023-2025 Local 452 agreement, with 2026 negotiations underway. Carried, and marked partial for that reason. Applicants must be 21 at the closing date.

Bellevue, Everett, Bellingham, Shoreline. Monthly only. Bellevue's 2024 chart runs $8,069.36 to $10,259.83 with 2025 and 2026 CPI-W increases not printed; Everett's 2026-2029 agreement runs Firefighter Step A 6,880 to Step D 9,819 a month with 3.75 percent added January 1, 2026; Bellingham's January 1, 2026 structure runs $8,012 to $10,164 a month; Shoreline's 2025 scale runs $7,822.58 in the first year to $11,175.11 at 37 months, with 2.7 percent added to the top step for 2026. Each schedule is in the row's notes; none is multiplied into a salary.

Olympia. The city's employment page prints 2026 compensation for a Firefighter/Paramedic: Step 1-Recruit $95,385.53, a range of $95,385 to $135,924, lateral hires at step 3 ($119,231). The Firefighter/EMT entry is listed as Step 1-Recruit without a figure, so the paramedic range is carried and labeled.

Anacortes. The 2026-2028 agreement prints the firefighter grade both ways: $7,813.50 a month and $93,762.04 a year at the hiring rate, $8,878.98 and $106,547.77 after four years, with 4.0 percent added in 2027 and again in 2028.

Central Pierce Fire and Rescue. The district's 2026 Local 726 schedule prints monthly and annual salaries by rank: probationary firefighter $87,540, 3rd Class $97,272, 2nd Class $108,024, 1st Class $120,048, with paramedics 12 percent above and a 42.11-hour week on 24-hour shifts.

East County Fire and Rescue. The posted 2025-2027 agreement carries two tables both labeled 2025 Wage Scale, one starting a probationary firefighter at $79,897.71 and the other at $81,186.38, with different top figures too. They disagree, so both are named and neither is carried.

Which application doors are open today?

• Seattle: entry-level Firefighter applications open October 6, 2026 and close November 17, 2026; the FireTEAM test and Public Safety Self-Assessment run through the National Testing Network, and the top 1,500 go to oral boards.
• King County consortium (WA Fire Careers): Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority, Valley Regional Fire Authority, Renton Regional Fire Authority, Enumclaw Fire and King County Fire District 20 hire from one continuous NTN process; scores were pulled August 24, 2026 for a February 2027 academy, with oral boards in September and chiefs' interviews in October 2026. A current state EMT certification, or eligibility for one at hire, is required; age 18 or 21 depending on the agency.
• Vancouver (entry April 1 to May 15, 2026; lateral May 16 to June 15) and Olympia (lists pulled in March 2026 for a May start) ran their 2026 windows already; Olympia reviews lateral paramedic applications as received.
• Spokane, Tacoma, Bellevue, Everett, Bellingham, Anacortes, Central Pierce, East County, Shoreline: pay documents only; no posting was opened for these rows.