Who Employs EMTs?

Over a quarter of a million people were employed as emergency medical technicians and paramedics as of 2010, and this number is expected to jump by 33 percent by 2020. With so many jobs and strong growth expected, you have a good reason to pursue a career as an EMT. But if you want to gain employment as an EMT you need to know exactly who is doing the hiring.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2011 the largest employer of EMTs are organizations operating in the sector known as "other ambulatory health care services." This should come as no surprise, as this category includes ambulance services. In 2011 there were 110,330 EMTs and paramedics working in the industry. They earned an hourly mean wage of $14.90 or $30,980 per year.

The second largest employer of EMTs is local government, excluding hospitals and schools. Some sub-sectors in this industry that employ EMTs are the health care practitioner sub-sector and the health care support sub-sector. In 2011 there were 69,290 EMTs and paramedics working in this industry. They earned a mean wage of $18.46 per hour or $38,400 per year.

The third largest employer of EMTs are general medical and surgical hospitals. This includes both for-profit and nonprofit hospitals. As of 2011 these hospitals employed 38,180 EMTs and paramedics, who earned an average hourly wage of $16.43 or $34,170 per year.

After hospitals there is a big leap to the next largest employer of EMTs. As of 2011 there were 1,640 EMTs and paramedics employed by the industry categorized as "other support services," which is part of the larger "administrative and support services" category. EMTs and paramedics in this industry earned a mean salary of $31,270 per year in 2011 or $15.03 per hour.

Doctors' offices are the fifth largest employer of EMTs. As of 2011 there were 1,610 EMTs and paramedics working in doctors' offices. They earned $16.12 per hour on average or $33,530 per year.

Emts and paramedics earned a median annual salary of $32,670 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, emts and paramedics earned a 25th percentile salary of $25,850, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $42,710, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 248,000 people were employed in the U.S. as emts and paramedics.