City of Buffalo / Fire Ladder 4 / Firefighter
Job-title file
Respond to fires and emergencies, perform rescue and medical aid, and carry out prevention and inspection.
16 employees hold this title in Fire Ladder 4. Median total compensation for the role is $102,458, below the department median of $110,744.
What the records show
How total compensation varies among the 16 people in this role. Even for one job title, pay differs with seniority, step, overtime, and tenure. Each bar is a pay range; the far-right bar collects the highest earners.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY area, the median wage for Firefighters — about 820 people — is $74,470. Fire Ladder 4 pays a median base salary of $62,584 for this role, 16% below that figure — about the 30th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Firefighters 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 Ladder 4’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Firefighters — about 345,990 people — is $59,280. Fire Ladder 4’s median base salary is 6% above that national figure, about the 55th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
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 Ladder 4 is $102,458, 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
Firefighter is held in 38 City of Buffalo departments. In Fire Ladder 4, the median of $102,458 ranks #6 of 38.
Median total compensation for the Firefighter role in other City of Buffalodepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
This role is reported in 20 jurisdictions. In City of Buffalo, the median of $80,886 ranks #10 of 20. See Firefighter across all of City of Buffalo →
Median total compensation for comparable Firefighterroles 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
Page 1
Firefighter/Fire Ladder 4
Source-specific fields
Michael Smith works as a Firefighter for Fire Ladder 4 within Public Safety. Michael earned $93,040 in 2026.
Firefighter/Fire Ladder 4
Source-specific fields
William Lewis is a Firefighter at Fire Ladder 4 within Public Safety. 2026 total compensation came to $92,015.
Firefighter/Fire Ladder 4
Source-specific fields
At Fire Ladder 4, Eric Freeland serves as a Firefighter within Public Safety. Their 2026 pay totaled $90,780.