Best States to be an Emergency Medical Technician
New research has revealed the best states to be an emergency medical technician, with Hawaii taking the top spot.
First responder career advisors EarlyResponders.com analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to discover the hourly mean wage and employment per 1,000 jobs for EMTs in every state. Each category was indexed and awarded a score out of ten with 70% weight assigned to the hourly pay and 30% to the employment prospects to determine the final ranking of the best and worst states to be an emergency medical technician.
TOP 10 BEST STATES TO BE AN EMT
| Rank | State | Hourly Mean Wage | Employment Per 1,000 Jobs | Score |
| 1 | Hawaii | $27.3 | 0.925 | 3.8 |
| 2 | Alaska | $25.52 | 1.265 | 3.5 |
| 3 | Maryland | $26.01 | 1.037 | 3.5 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $23.8 | 1.297 | 3.04 |
| 5 | Illinois | $23.28 | 1.354 | 2.93 |
| 6 | District of Columbia | $24.79 | 0.51 | 2.83 |
| 7 | Connecticut | $21.99 | 1.674 | 2.76 |
| 8 | New Jersey | $22.04 | 1.579 | 2.72 |
| 9 | North Dakota | $20.24 | 2.395 | 2.72 |
| 10 | Wyoming | $22.03 | 1.577 | 2.71 |
TOP 10 WORST STATES TO BE AN EMT
| Rank | State | Hourly Mean Wage | Employment Per 1,000 Jobs | Score |
| 1 | Kansas | $15.04 | 0.978 | 0.37 |
| 2 | Arkansas | $15.56 | 0.875 | 0.46 |
| 3 | Kentucky | $14.88 | 1.225 | 0.48 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | $14.88 | 1.435 | 0.61 |
| 5 | West Virginia | $14.96 | 1.55 | 0.70 |
| 6 | Alabama | $16.12 | 1.153 | 0.79 |
| 7 | Utah | $17.19 | 0.667 | 0.79 |
| 8 | Mississippi | $16.02 | 1.215 | 0.80 |
| 9 | Texas | $17.13 | 0.893 | 0.91 |
| 10 | Iowa | $17.74 | 0.618 | 0.91 |
Interested to see how other states ranked in the chart? See the full data table below.
| State | Hourly Mean Wage | Employment Per 1,000 Jobs | Hourly Mean Wage (Score) | Employment per 1,000 jobs (Score) | Location Quotient | Score |
| Hawaii | 27.3 | 0.925 | 10.00 | 1.97 | 2.01 | 3.80 |
| Alaska | 25.52 | 1.265 | 8.57 | 3.37 | 3.41 | 3.50 |
| Maryland | 26.01 | 1.037 | 8.96 | 2.44 | 2.43 | 3.50 |
| Massachusetts | 23.8 | 1.297 | 7.18 | 3.51 | 3.50 | 3.04 |
| Illinois | 23.28 | 1.354 | 6.76 | 3.74 | 3.74 | 2.93 |
| District of Columbia | 24.79 | 0.51 | 7.98 | 0.26 | 0.28 | 2.83 |
| Connecticut | 21.99 | 1.674 | 5.72 | 5.06 | 5.09 | 2.76 |
| New Jersey | 22.04 | 1.579 | 5.76 | 4.67 | 4.67 | 2.72 |
| North Dakota | 20.24 | 2.395 | 4.32 | 8.03 | 8.04 | 2.72 |
| Wyoming | 22.03 | 1.577 | 5.76 | 4.66 | 4.67 | 2.71 |
| New York | 22.12 | 1.379 | 5.83 | 3.84 | 3.88 | 2.62 |
| Delaware | 19.97 | 2.186 | 4.10 | 7.17 | 7.20 | 2.51 |
| Vermont | 18.09 | 2.873 | 2.58 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 2.40 |
| California | 21.93 | 1.036 | 5.68 | 2.43 | 2.43 | 2.35 |
| Rhode Island | 20.54 | 1.132 | 4.56 | 2.83 | 2.85 | 2.02 |
| Minnesota | 20.32 | 1.099 | 4.38 | 2.69 | 2.71 | 1.94 |
| Oregon | 20.99 | 0.726 | 4.92 | 1.15 | 1.17 | 1.89 |
| Washington | 20.87 | 0.773 | 4.82 | 1.35 | 1.36 | 1.89 |
| Virginia | 19.12 | 1.166 | 3.41 | 2.97 | 2.99 | 1.64 |
| Wisconsin | 18.57 | 1.383 | 2.97 | 3.86 | 3.88 | 1.62 |
| New Hampshire | 17.62 | 1.634 | 2.21 | 4.89 | 4.91 | 1.51 |
| New Mexico | 17.81 | 1.508 | 2.36 | 4.38 | 4.39 | 1.48 |
| Maine | 17.65 | 1.573 | 2.23 | 4.64 | 4.67 | 1.48 |
| South Carolina | 17.73 | 1.485 | 2.29 | 4.28 | 4.30 | 1.45 |
| North Carolina | 17.93 | 1.385 | 2.46 | 3.87 | 3.88 | 1.44 |
| Colorado | 18.43 | 1.089 | 2.86 | 2.65 | 2.66 | 1.40 |
| Louisiana | 17.45 | 1.492 | 2.07 | 4.31 | 4.35 | 1.37 |
| Pennsylvania | 17.06 | 1.584 | 1.76 | 4.69 | 4.72 | 1.32 |
| Idaho | 17.38 | 1.282 | 2.01 | 3.44 | 3.46 | 1.22 |
| Missouri | 17.99 | 0.966 | 2.50 | 2.14 | 2.15 | 1.20 |
| South Dakota | 16.8 | 1.475 | 1.55 | 4.24 | 4.25 | 1.18 |
| Georgia | 16.96 | 1.389 | 1.67 | 3.89 | 3.88 | 1.17 |
| Tennessee | 17.88 | 0.968 | 2.42 | 2.15 | 2.15 | 1.17 |
| Indiana | 17.16 | 1.278 | 1.84 | 3.43 | 3.46 | 1.16 |
| Nevada | 17.81 | 0.897 | 2.36 | 1.86 | 1.87 | 1.10 |
| Montana | 16.17 | 1.494 | 1.04 | 4.32 | 4.35 | 1.01 |
| Michigan | 17.17 | 1.007 | 1.84 | 2.31 | 2.34 | 0.99 |
| Nebraska | 18.27 | 0.446 | 2.73 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.96 |
| Florida | 17.85 | 0.634 | 2.39 | 0.77 | 0.79 | 0.95 |
| Ohio | 17 | 0.989 | 1.71 | 2.24 | 2.24 | 0.93 |
| Arizona | 17.1 | 0.929 | 1.79 | 1.99 | 2.01 | 0.92 |
| Iowa | 17.74 | 0.618 | 2.30 | 0.71 | 0.70 | 0.91 |
| Texas | 17.13 | 0.893 | 1.81 | 1.84 | 1.87 | 0.91 |
| Mississippi | 16.02 | 1.215 | 0.92 | 3.17 | 3.18 | 0.80 |
| Utah | 17.19 | 0.667 | 1.86 | 0.91 | 0.93 | 0.79 |
| Alabama | 16.12 | 1.153 | 1.00 | 2.91 | 2.94 | 0.79 |
| West Virginia | 14.96 | 1.55 | 0.06 | 4.55 | 4.58 | 0.70 |
| Oklahoma | 14.88 | 1.435 | 0.00 | 4.07 | 4.11 | 0.61 |
| Kentucky | 14.88 | 1.225 | 0.00 | 3.21 | 3.22 | 0.48 |
| Arkansas | 15.56 | 0.875 | 0.55 | 1.77 | 1.78 | 0.46 |
| Kansas | 15.04 | 0.978 | 0.13 | 2.19 | 2.20 | 0.37 |
