California public employers · 2026 pay · 2,766 people
How much does a fire engineer make in California public employers?
$261,170typical pay for full-year fire engineers in 2026
$225,044 – $339,621what most people earned
Counting everyone paid during 2026, including part-year workers, typical pay was $198,495. Each employer counts with its latest published year (2025 or 2026). Typical pay rose 4.3% from the same employers' year before.
✓ Official data from 5 agencies · Matches each agency's latest release · Show sourcesHide sources
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- California State Controller's Office · sco.ca.gov ↗
- City of San Jose · sanjoseca.gov ↗
- City of Richmond · ci.richmond.ca.us ↗
Where fire engineers work
Typical pay at each employer, 2026 (everyone paid).
- City of San Diego225 people$158,123
- San Jose215 people$220,916
- Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District134 people$227,009
- City of Sacramento112 people$179,263
- Ventura County111 people$220,593
- Alameda County93 people$251,256
- City of Long Beach86 people$233,858
- Contra Costa County70 people$198,161
- City of Modesto63 people$182,301
- City of Ontario55 people$259,566
- City of Anaheim53 people$239,422
- City of Santa Rosa47 people$207,593
- City of Fremont39 people$227,927
- City of Roseville34 people$196,164
- City of Rancho Cucamonga31 people$220,213
- Cosumnes Community Services District30 people$195,019
- City of Huntington Beach30 people$206,562
- City of Redding29 people$145,421
- City of Pleasanton29 people$228,451
- Kings County29 people$119,555
- City of Orange29 people$190,766
- City of Escondido28 people$177,922
- City of Torrance27 people$247,662
- City of Burbank26 people$221,998
- South San Joaquin County Fire Authority25 people$234,721
- Imperial County25 people$84,740
- Kern County24 people$144,262
- City of Palm Springs24 people$230,193
- City of Monterey24 people$168,109
- City of Corona24 people$230,055
- City of Oceanside23 people$179,043
- Richmond22 people$245,384
- City of Salinas22 people$164,910
- City of Fairfield22 people$261,956
- City of Carlsbad21 people$181,907
- City of San Buenaventura21 people$198,444
- City of Santa Maria20 people$175,961
- City of San Rafael19 people$197,650
- City of Merced19 people$146,409
- City of Redlands18 people$206,861
- City of Victorville18 people$179,417
- City of Fullerton18 people$189,553
- City of Costa Mesa18 people$213,648
- City of West Sacramento18 people$199,714
- City of Vista18 people$177,721
- City of Clovis18 people$195,907
- City of San Marcos17 people$183,977
- City of Montebello17 people$230,708
- City of Encinitas15 people$167,769
- City of El Cajon15 people$189,266
- City of Turlock15 people$122,797
- City of Santa Cruz15 people$222,749
- City of Hemet15 people$183,092
- City of Alhambra15 people$226,136
- City of West Covina15 people$204,826
- City of Tulare14 people$132,632
- City of Downey14 people$211,989
- City of Compton13 people$229,060
- City of San Luis Obispo13 people$179,301
- City of Redondo Beach13 people$210,917
- City of Monterey Park12 people$216,102
- City of Laguna Beach12 people$205,914
- City of Pasadena12 people$200,658
- City of Arcadia12 people$213,750
- City of Santa Fe Springs12 people$236,845
- City of Culver City11 people$313,252
- City of Rocklin11 people$166,645
- City of Hollister11 people$187,903
- City of Colton11 people$235,850
- City of Loma Linda10 people$227,135
- City of Gilroy10 people$152,260
- City of National City10 people$183,560
- City of Monrovia10 people$210,662
- City of El Segundo10 people$231,865
- Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District10 people$120,806
- City of Fountain Valley10 people$214,510
- French Camp-McKinley Fire Protection District10 people$99,620
- City of El Centro9 people$118,331
- City of Brea9 people$226,508
- City of Hanford9 people$132,340
- City of Selma9 people$165,287
- City of Benicia9 people$184,841
- Amador County9 people$106,899
- City of Watsonville9 people$163,448
- Five Cities Fire Authority8 people$168,285
- City of Red Bluff8 people$87,533
- City of Glendale8 people$235,466
- City of Vacaville7 people$233,047
- City of El Cerrito7 people$213,659
- City of Marina6 people$180,379
- City of Suisun City6 people$156,503
- City of Albany6 people$275,318
- City of Rio Vista6 people$144,272
- City of Ione6 people$91,260
- City of Barstow6 people$173,899
- City of Lemon Grove6 people$175,505
- City of Los Banos6 people$112,676
- City of Dixon6 people$188,763
- City of Seaside6 people$154,752
- Montecito Fire Protection District6 people$269,588
- City of Placentia6 people$152,538
- City of Coronado6 people$187,962
- City of Montclair5 people$151,929
- City of San Gabriel5 people$207,481
- City of Sonora4 people$96,612
- Templeton Community Services District4 people$86,880
- Sutter County4 people$107,972
- City of Avalon4 people$144,045
- City of Calistoga4 people$119,874
- City of King City4 people$8,464
- City of Lincoln4 people$129,724
- City of Visalia4 people$183,643
- City of Auburn3 people$155,491
- City of South Pasadena3 people$219,067
- City of Grass Valley3 people$126,424
- City of Guadalupe3 people$129,736
- City of Winters3 people$69,207
- City of Jackson3 people$95,303
- Central Marin Fire Authority3 people$229,337
- Twain Harte Community Services District3 people$52,657
- City of Greenfield3 people$190,648
- City of Willows3 people$6,733
- City of Del Mar3 people$135,771
- City of Petaluma3 people$105,712
- City of San Marino3 people$196,152
- City of Porterville3 people$112,587
- Willow Oak Fire Protection District3 people$62,030
- City of Piedmont3 people$181,627
- City of Coalinga2 people$131,979
- City of California City2 people$152,644
- City of Patterson2 people$100,958
- City of Sebastopol2 people$68,705
- City of Healdsburg2 people$179,246
- Olivehurst Public Utility District2 people$153,124
- City of Fillmore2 people$116,394
- Idyllwild Fire Protection District1 person$129,268
- City of Angels1 person$55,003
- City of South Lake Tahoe1 person$141,402
- City of Yreka1 person$5,757
- City of Bishop1 person$93,521
- City of Mt. Shasta1 person$85,155
- Cambria Community Services District1 person$110,280
No employers match.
Pay by level
Levels with 5 or more people.
- Fire-Engineer10 people$120,806
- Fire Engineer I - 5618 people$145,577
- Fire Engineer2,474 people$198,155
- Fire Engineer/ (56 Hours)70 people$198,161
- Fire Engineer - 5620 people$199,307
- Fire Engineer II9 people$200,553
- Fire Engineer (56 Hours)118 people$212,261
- Fire Engineer IV20 people$238,624
- Fire Engineer III22 people$242,758
Highest-paid fire engineers, 2026
Common questions
How much does a fire engineer make in California public employers?
Full-year fire engineers were typically paid $261,170 in 2026; most earned between $225,044 and $339,621. Counting all 2,766 people paid, typical pay was $198,495.
How much of the pay is overtime?
Overtime made up 29.8% of all pay for fire engineers in 2026.
Which job titles are included?
Everyone whose payroll title is Fire Engineer, at any level (for example "Fire-Engineer"). Part-time-schedule titles (such as "20 hours") are left out. Senior, supervising and trainee titles have their own pages.
Job titles are written out in full from the payroll's abbreviations (for example "SR CRRECTNL POLC OFCR" → "Senior Correctional Police Officer"). "Typical pay" is the median; "most earned" is the middle half. How we calculate this