Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations · SOC 29-2043 · California
Paramedics in California
Paramedics in California earned a median of $74,590 a year in May 2025, above the $60,600 national median for the occupation. California employs 5,190 of them, 0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the state. Most people entering the occupation nationally do so with a postsecondary nondegree award.
Median annual pay in California
$74,590
Above the $60,600 national median for this occupation
Median hourly pay in California
$35.86
Published separately by BLS, not calculated from the annual figure.
Middle half earn between
$63,490 – $90,730
The 25th to 75th percentile of everyone in the occupation in this state
Employed in California
5,190
0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the state
Concentration vs national
0.44×
much less concentrated here than nationally
Pay rank
#8 of 51
Among the states and DC that released an estimate for this occupation
Typical entry education (U.S.)
Postsecondary nondegree award
What paramedics actually earn in California
The full published wage distribution, not one averaged figure. Pay inside a single occupation varies more by experience, employer and setting than most salary pages admit.
- 10th percentile
- $53,370
- 25th percentile
- $63,490
- Median
- $74,590
- 75th percentile
- $90,730
- 90th percentile
- $102,450
How California compares
- Against the rest of the country. $74,590 in California against $60,600 nationally for the same occupation, which puts California 8th of the 51 jurisdictions that released an estimate. Neither figure is adjusted for cost of living, so a higher median does not by itself mean more money left over.
- Against other work in California. $74,590 against $58,240, the median across every occupation in the state — 28% above it.
- How much of this work is here. The occupation is much less concentrated here than nationally (0.44× the national share of employment), 48th of 51 for concentration. Concentration describes where the work is, not how easy it is to be hired.
Where paramedics are paid most
The highest published medians for this occupation. Before reading it as a place to move, note that these are not cost-of-living adjusted and that the states paying most are often the ones where everything costs most.
How people get into this work
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports as typical for entry nationally. Typical is a measurement of the people already doing the work, not a rule: some enter with less and some with more.
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Work experience needed
Less than 5 years
On-the-job training
None
California licensing is not in these figures.
Many occupations, including most of health care, teaching, law, accountancy and the skilled trades, require a state licence, certification or registration before you can work. California sets its own, and none of it is part of the federal dataset above, so CampusPin cannot tell you whether this occupation is licensed here. Check the California licensing board before committing to a route, because where an occupation is licensed that requirement, not the typical credential, is the real gate.
What people study to get here, and where in California
Fields the federal CIP-to-SOC crosswalk associates with this occupation, ordered by how many credentials U.S. colleges conferred in each — a measure of how many people take a route, never of how good it is. Studying any of these does not lead only here, and this occupation is entered from other fields too.
46 colleges in California reported awarding credentials in this field in 2023-24 — see which ones, and what they cost.
This lists colleges that reported conferring credentials in this field to the federal IPEDS completions collection, in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. It does not confirm that any of them is currently admitting students to the program, and a college can appear here after deciding to close it. Confirm with the institution before it affects where you apply.
Colleges in California
Pay is one half of the decision. What it costs to get qualified is the other, and it is the half that varies most between two colleges in the same state.
Source & methodology
State wage and employment figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 release. National median pay, projections and typical entry education are from the BLS Employment Projections programme (2024 wages). Both are public domain; credit BLS.
Wages are May 2025 estimates from the federal Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, which asks employers what they pay everyone currently working in the occupation — experienced and new alike. They are not starting salaries, not the earnings of recent graduates, and not adjusted for cost of living, which matters when comparing one state against another. Self-employed workers are not surveyed.
Suggested citation
CampusPin. (2026). Paramedics in California, pay and employment. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/careers/paramedics/in/california
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