Firefighters Salary in Durham, NC

Firefighters pay range in Durham

New workers and the lowest-paid 10% earn about $31,200 a year or less, while the top 10% make $58,000 or more. The middle half of firefighters in Durham earn between $35,480 and $45,880.

*Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year.

Firefighters salary after taxes in Durham

On the average salary of $42,480, a single filer in Durham takes home about $35,126 a year, or $2,927 a month and $1,351 every two weeks. Taxes take 17% of gross pay.

Single filer, standard deduction: federal income tax (2026 brackets), Social Security, Medicare and state income tax (2026 rules).

Is Durham a good place for firefighters? Pay vs. cost of living

Prices in the Durham area are 2% below the U.S. average (BEA price parity 97.6), so the average $42,480 buys what about $43,537 would buy in a typical U.S. metro. This job pays 0.6 times the median wage of all jobs in Durham ($60,720). A typical home costs $414,340, or 9.8 years of this average salary before tax.

See what $42,480 is worth in another city

Firefighters salary in other North Carolina cities

Durham ranks 5th of 15 North Carolina metro areas for this job; Greensboro pays the most ($49,960).

All Firefighters salaries in North Carolina

Highest-paying cities for firefighters

Bakersfield, CA pays this job the most of the metro areas we cover ($199,490).

Firefighters salary by city

Related jobs in Durham

• Fire Inspectors and Investigators$72,220 a year
• First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$90,930 a year
• Detectives and Criminal Investigators$71,820 a year
• First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers$69,960 a year
• Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$62,870 a year
• First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$61,830 a year
• Protective Service Workers, All Other$57,640 a year
• Correctional Officers and Jailers$52,730 a year

Average salary in Durham and every job