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City of Philadelphia / Pfd Fire / Fire Captain

Job-title file

Fire Captain

Respond to fires and emergencies, perform rescue and medical aid, and carry out prevention and inspection.

143 employees hold this title in Pfd Fire. Median total compensation for the role is $52,976, above the department median of $33,557.

Employees
143
Total payroll
$8.6M
Role median
$52,976
Agency median
$33,557
Comparison
Above

What the records show

Role pay distribution

Pay distribution for this role

$0$209,687+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How total compensation varies among the 143 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

Fire Captain pay vs. the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area

Across all employers in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area, the median wage for First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers — about 950 people — is $101,050. Pfd Fire pays a median base salary of $27,184 for this role, 73% below that figurebelow the 10th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Pfd Fire sits in the local pay range

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$91,450
$101,050
$101,050
$121,800
$129,510
Pfd Fire median · $27,184

The bar is the range of annual wages for First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers across every employer in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Pfd Fire’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. Pfd Fire’s median base salary is 71% below that national figure, below the 10th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$53,430
$72,140
$93,530
$119,500
$140,010
Pfd Fire median · $27,184

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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD range relative to the national one.

Computed over the 116 of 143 people in this role paid at least $25,000in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.

Median total compensation for this role at Pfd Fire is $52,976, 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 jurisdictions

Fire Captain beyond City of Philadelphia

This role is reported in 19 jurisdictions. In City of Philadelphia, the median of $52,976 ranks #18 of 19. See Fire Captain across all of City of Philadelphia

Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role

Los Angeles County
$402,076 · 748
City of San Jose
$352,297 · 181
City of Los Angeles
$329,749 · 575
City of Las Vegas
$246,977 · 330
City of Boston
$235,922 · 46
California
$175,601 · 2,876
Miami-Dade County
$163,213 · 257
City of Worcester
$149,775 · 31

Median total compensation for comparable Fire Captainroles 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

Thomas Robbins

Fire Captain/Pfd Fire

2021 total comp
$30,804
Base pay
$5,062
Overtime
$6,999
Other pay
$18,743
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$30,804
Employment type
Salaried

Source-specific fields

Base Salary
$101,487
Employee Category
Civil Service
Job Code
6B04
Public Id
33649
Total Pay
$30,804

Thomas Robbins works as a Fire Captain for Pfd Fire. Their status is salaried. Thomas earned $30,804 in 2021.

Clifford Gilliam

Fire Captain/Pfd Fire

2026 total comp
$30,455
Base pay
$0
Overtime
$0
Other pay
$30,455
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$30,455
Employment type
Salaried

Source-specific fields

Base Salary
$117,290
Employee Category
Civil Service
Job Code
6B04
Public Id
23312
Total Pay
$30,455

Clifford Gilliam works as a Fire Captain for Pfd Fire. Their status is salaried. Clifford earned $30,455 in 2026.

Michael Whalen

Fire Captain/Pfd Fire

2026 total comp
$29,676
Base pay
$24,974
Overtime
$253
Other pay
$4,449
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$29,676
Employment type
Salaried

Source-specific fields

Base Salary
$117,290
Employee Category
Civil Service
Job Code
6B04
Public Id
14424
Total Pay
$29,676

Michael Whalen is a Fire Captain at Pfd Fire. They work salaried. 2026 total compensation came to $29,676.

Edward Powell

Fire Captain/Pfd Fire

2022 total comp
$23,738
Base pay
$2,283
Overtime
$0
Other pay
$21,454
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$23,738
Employment type
Salaried

Source-specific fields

Base Salary
$104,278
Employee Category
Civil Service
Job Code
6B04
Public Id
23495
Total Pay
$23,738

Edward Powell works as a Fire Captain for Pfd Fire. Their status is salaried. Edward earned $23,738 in 2022.

Thomas O Malley

Fire Captain/Pfd Fire

2020 total comp
$23,241
Base pay
$0
Overtime
$0
Other pay
$23,241
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$23,241
Employment type
Salaried

Source-specific fields

Base Salary
$99,012
Employee Category
Civil Service
Job Code
6B04
Public Id
25729
Total Pay
$23,241

Thomas O Malley holds the role of Fire Captain at Pfd Fire. Their status is salaried. In 2020, their total compensation was $23,241.

Jeffery Neary

Fire Captain/Pfd Fire

2023 total comp
$21,500
Base pay
$14,082
Overtime
$0
Other pay
$7,418
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$21,500
Employment type
Salaried

Source-specific fields

Base Salary
$107,928
Employee Category
Civil Service
Job Code
6B04
Public Id
14839
Total Pay
$21,500

Jeffery Neary holds the role of Fire Captain at Pfd Fire. Their status is salaried. In 2023, their total compensation was $21,500.