Here's what firefighters earn in every US state

Reuters/Robert Galbraith

• Firefighter salaries vary widely across the US.
• Business Insider used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to look at what a typical firefighter earns in each state.
• You can check out our full list breaking down firefighter salaries here.

Firefighters are heroes who save lives in their communities every days, but their salaries vary widely across the US.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Occupational Employment Statistics for May 2017, an annual report on employment and wages in several different careers across the country. Using those estimates, Business Insider found what a typical firefighter earns in almost every state. You can check out our full list breaking down salaries of firefighters and their first-line supervisors here.

This map shows the median salary for firefighters in each state. Western states and states around New York City had the highest salaries for the typical firefighter:

Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Bureau of Labor Statistics