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City of Buffalo / Fire Engine 41 / Battalion Chief

Job-title file

Battalion Chief

Lead staff and operations — set priorities, allocate resources, and oversee program delivery.

1 employees hold this title in Fire Engine 41. Median total compensation for the role is $170,551, above the department median of $151,924.

Employees
1
Total payroll
$170.6K
Role median
$170,551
Agency median
$151,924
Comparison
Above

Compared with the local labor market

Battalion Chief pay vs. the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY area

Across all employers in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY area, the median wage for First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers — about 300 people — is $99,260. Fire Engine 41 pays a median base salary of $89,425 for this role, 10% below that figureabout the 17th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Fire Engine 41 sits in the local pay range

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$88,050
$91,050
$99,260
$99,260
$99,260
Fire Engine 41 median · $89,425

The bar is the range of annual wages for First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers across every employer in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Fire Engine 41’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers — about 99,140 people — is $93,530. Fire Engine 41’s median base salary is 4% below that national figure, about the 45th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$53,430
$72,140
$93,530
$119,500
$140,010
Fire Engine 41 median · $89,425

Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY range relative to the national one.

Median total compensation for this role at Fire Engine 41 is $170,551, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.

Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.

Compare departments

This role across City of Buffalo

Battalion Chief is held in 3 City of Buffalo departments. In Fire Engine 41, the median of $170,551 ranks #2 of 3.

Highest-paying departments for this role

Fire Engine 40
$188,422 · 28
Fire Engine 42
$157,451 · 1

Median total compensation for the Battalion Chief role in other City of Buffalodepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.

Compare jurisdictions

Battalion Chief beyond City of Buffalo

This role is reported in 7 jurisdictions. In City of Buffalo, the median of $186,894 ranks #4 of 7. See Battalion Chief across all of City of Buffalo

Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role

City of San Jose
$422,208 · 26
New York City
$231,236 · 390
California
$203,633 · 704
City of Chicago
$186,594 · 5
City of Pittsburgh
$31,480 · 18

Median total compensation for comparable Battalion Chiefroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.

Record list

Employees with this title

Page 1

Adam Markel

Battalion Chief/Fire Engine 41

2026 total comp
$170,551
Sub-department
Public Safety
Base pay
$89,425
Overtime
$51,997
Other pay
$29,129
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$170,551

Source-specific fields

Employeeid
170515

Adam Markel works as a Battalion Chief for Fire Engine 41 within Public Safety. Adam earned $170,551 in 2026.