EMT Salary in Los Angeles, CA 2026, $45,090 Median | BLS + Market Data
EMT pay across the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro, where a vast private ambulance sector employs most EMTs and county EMS agency accreditation governs who can work where.
Updated July 2026 · BLS OEWS May 2025
Compiled by GlobalCybers Labor Market Research · Reviewed by GlobalCybers Compliance Desk, Safety & compliance review · See methodology & sources →
Los Angeles Median
$45,090
$21.68/hr BLS
P75
$51,080
$24.56/hr
Sector Peak
$68,600
Metro P90
BLS Workers
6,610
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim MSA
vs CA Median
−$1,290
−2.8% below CA
Direct Answer
How much do emts make in Los Angeles, CA in 2026?
Los Angeles EMTs earn a BLS MSA median of $45,090/yr ($21.68/hr), 1.4% above the US figure and 2.8% below the California statewide median. The band runs $38,850 to $68,600. Los Angeles is dominated by private ambulance providers holding county and municipal contracts, and because EMT-Basic roles in that sector are hourly and heavily standardised, the bulk of the local workforce sits in a narrow range just above the state wage floor. → Full emt career guide, career path, EMSA licence, and Los Angeles job placement →
Key takeaways
Los Angeles emts earn a BLS MSA median of $45,090/yr ($21.68/hr) per BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 29-2042, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim MSA), with a metro P10–P90 range of $38,850 to $68,600.
LA EMTs earn 1.4% above the US figure but 2.8% below the California statewide median, with a band from $38,850 to $68,600.
Private ambulance providers under county and municipal contracts employ most local EMTs, and their hourly rates cluster tightly near the wage floor.
California requires both state certification and local EMS agency accreditation, so working across county lines takes more than one credential.
Los Angeles EMT Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025
Los Angeles Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do Los Angeles emts earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended metro wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute this MSA's own published percentile range across the tiers Los Angeles employers actually hire at.
Level
MSA Median (BLS percentile-aligned)
EMT, entry / event and transfer work
$38,850
Certified EMT with county accreditation, 911 service
$45,090
Critical-care or specialty transport EMT
$51,080
Fire-based or municipal EMS
$68,600
Level medians are aligned to this metro's own published BLS OEWS May 2025 percentiles for SOC 29-2042; BLS does not publish a wage by credential level. GlobalCybers holds no verified placement sample for Los Angeles emts, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-2042, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA MSA. No verified placement data: GlobalCybers has no placement sample for Los Angeles emts, so every figure on this page is a published BLS estimate and no verified median is claimed. MSA sample size: an OEWS metro cell is drawn from a much smaller establishment sample than the statewide cell, so metro medians carry wider uncertainty and move more between releases. Where BLS suppresses or top-codes the metro wage for this occupation, this page reports the national figure and says so rather than asserting a Los Angeles median. Employer names mentioned on this page (e.g. in sector or FAQ copy) are illustrative examples of who hires in each market, not a claim of partnership. Full statewide methodology → · Full site methodology & data sources →
Full Data
How much do emts make in Los Angeles CA in 2026?
Metric
Value
Source
BLS MSA Median (Annual)
$45,090
BLS OEWS May 2025
BLS Median Hourly
$21.68/hr
BLS OEWS May 2025
P10 (Bottom 10%)
$38,850/yr · $18.68/hr
BLS OEWS
P25
$39,890/yr · $19.18/hr
BLS OEWS
P75
$51,080/yr · $24.56/hr
BLS OEWS
P90 (Top 10%)
$68,600/yr · $32.98/hr
BLS OEWS
vs California Median
−$1,290 (−2.8%)
vs $46,380 CA
vs National Median
+$620 (+1.4%)
vs $44,470 US
California State Income Tax
9.3%
California Tax Code
Licensing Authority
EMSA (California Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) and the local EMS agencies (LEMSAs))
State board
Reading this page's sources:BLS OEWS is the official published wage, sampled 1–2 years back. Market intelligence rows are directional signals from recruiter conversations and industry sources, not independently verified — treat them as a range, not a benchmark.
Los Angeles Sectors
Which Los Angeles sector pays emts the most?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for emts across the whole Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro and does not break it out by industry. The sectors below are ranked in the order Los Angeles employers actually pay, with each row anchored to this metro's own published percentile ladder (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-2042).
Sector
MSA Median
Notes
Fire-based and municipal EMS
$68,600
Municipal fire-based EMS roles sit at the $68,600 top of the published band, on department scales rather than ambulance contract rates.
Critical-care and specialty transport
$51,080
Critical-care transport and specialty interfacility services sit around the $51,080 P75, above routine ambulance work.
Private 911 contract ambulance services
$45,090
The typical LA EMT working for a private provider on a county or municipal 911 contract sits at the $45,090 metro median.
Interfacility transfer and event medical
$39,890
Interfacility transfer, dialysis transport and event medical standby cluster near the $39,890 P25, close to the state wage floor.
Real Take-Home
What is the actual take-home pay for a Los Angeles emt?
Real Los Angeles scenarios, line by line. California's income tax begins well below the $45,090 metro median, so an LA EMT pays state tax on most of their earnings — proportionally a heavier burden at this wage level than at professional salaries. Overtime, which is a large share of ambulance income, is taxed at the same progressive rates.
Estimates only. Pre-tax deductions (401k, health premium) reduce taxable income further. Consult a tax professional.
Los Angeles EMT Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
How much do emts make in Los Angeles?
Los Angeles EMTs earn a BLS MSA median of $45,090/yr, or $21.68/hr, with a published metro range of $38,850 to $68,600. That is 1.4% above the national figure. Private ambulance work under county and municipal contracts employs most of the local workforce and sits at or just below that median.
Do emts earn more in Los Angeles than elsewhere in California?
No — LA sits 2.8% below the California statewide median. Northern California municipalities pay EMS staff more, and the sheer scale of Los Angeles's private ambulance sector — where hourly rates are standardised by contract — keeps the metro figure closer to the wage floor than the state average.
How do you become an EMT in Los Angeles?
You complete an approved EMT course, pass the national certification examination and hold California EMT certification through the state Emergency Medical Services Authority and the local EMS agency structure. Working a 911 contract in a given county additionally requires accreditation with that county's local EMS agency, so moving between counties is not automatic.
What is the next step up from EMT in Los Angeles?
Paramedic, and then ideally a fire-based or critical-care transport role. The published band tops out at $68,600 and those roles occupy it; an EMT-Basic on transfer work has very little headroom. Paramedic training is a significant commitment but it is the gate to almost everything above the metro median here.
Do LA EMTs get overtime?
Routinely — private ambulance staffing models depend on it, and it is a substantial share of what many LA EMTs actually earn. The published wage reports base earnings, so an EMT working heavy overtime can exceed the figures shown here without moving to a different employer or role.
Why the largest EMS market pays near the floor
Los Angeles EMS is delivered predominantly by private providers competing for county and municipal contracts on price. Those contracts set what the provider can pay, and the pool of newly certified EMTs in Southern California is large. The combination produces a tightly clustered lower half of the band and a metro median only 1.4% above the national figure despite California's cost of living.
What this figure does not capture
Overtime is the biggest omission — it is structural rather than occasional in this market. The estimate also cannot show the effect of county accreditation, which limits where a certified EMT can actually work, or the difference between an EMT-Basic and the paramedics included in the same broad occupational family at other employers.
The accreditation mechanic
California layers local EMS agency accreditation on top of state certification, so an EMT accredited in one county cannot simply take a 911 role in the next one. In a metro that spans several county jurisdictions that has real labour-market consequences: it reduces mobility between employers, which in turn reduces the competitive pressure that would otherwise lift rates at the bottom of this band.
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Outlook & openings: EMT and paramedic employment is projected to grow 5.1% nationally over 2024–2034; scaled to the Los Angeles metro's share of national employment that is roughly 520 openings a year, a pro-rated figure derived from the national EP total rather than an LA-specific projection. (2024–2034 · national BLS EP 2024–34, pro-rated to the metro)
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