Fire alarm technician salary

Why fire alarm posts run $8 above the government figure

BLS groups fire alarm installers with security system installers and reports one median: $28.88 an hour (BLS, SOC 49-2098, May 2025). Fire alarm posts here offer $37.00.

Part of that gap is the grouping. Security and access control posts on this board offer $31.50, so a figure that averages the two trades pulls fire alarm down. The rest is timing: the BLS figure reflects May 2025, and these posts are from the fall of 2026.

NICET shows up in most posts

26 of the 36 fire alarm posts mention NICET, the certification fire alarm employers ask about most often. NICET certifies fire alarm systems work in levels I through IV. Some states and cities also license fire alarm work, so check the rules where you work.

These posts don't state pay by NICET level, and this page doesn't claim a dollar value for one.

Fire alarm compared with other trades

Fire alarm sits $2.65 below the journeyman median and above every other low voltage specialty on the board.

Trucks, tools and travel

16 of the 36 posts mention a company vehicle, a take-home truck or tools. Service and inspection work moves from building to building, so when you compare offers, count the truck.

Setting fire alarm pay

The middle of the posted market is $31.84 to $40.00 an hour. Most posts in this market mention NICET; if you require it, say which level and expect to pay in the top half of that range.

If the job comes with a vehicle, put it in the post. It is part of the offer.

Questions

How these figures are made

• Every posted figure comes from job posts on Best Electrician Jobs where the employer entered a pay range. Pay that appears only inside a job description is not counted.
• Only hourly pay is counted, using the midpoint of each range. Ranges under $15 or over $120 an hour are dropped, and so are ranges whose top is more than twice the bottom, because those span different jobs.
• A job posted in several cities counts once, and no company counts more than three times in any figure.
• Jobs are grouped by title. A row appears only with at least 10 posts from 5 employers. A headline figure needs 20 posts from 10 employers, and a middle-half range needs 30 posts.
• Yearly figures are the hourly rate times 2,080 hours, rounded to the nearest $100.
• Posted pay is what employers offer in their ads, not what workers end up earning. Government figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025.

Figures as of November 13, 2026.