Firefighter Salary in Nebraska (2026)

Worth knowing: Nebraska's substantial March 2019 bomb cyclone flooding + tornado response training is a distinctive feature of NE firefighting most national firefighter career surveys understate for the state. NE substantial post-March 2019 NE bomb cyclone flooding (March 12-14 2019 NE substantial bomb cyclone causing substantial NE Platte River + Loup River + Niobrara River + Elkhorn River + Missouri River basin flooding + ~$3B+ NE damages + ~$13B+ Midwest flooding losses + the substantial NE-Iowa Mills + Fremont + Norfolk + the substantial Spencer Dam failure + the substantial substantial NE Air National Guard 155th ARW Lincoln + Offutt AFB substantial flood response) + the substantial NE tornado response (NE is in the substantial Tornado Alley + ~50-60 NE tornadoes annually + the substantial post-2024 Elkhorn NE tornado outbreak + the substantial NE-substantial tornado response specialty training) supports substantial NE fire department + USAR + post-disaster + structural collapse + flood + boat rescue + helicopter rescue + mass casualty response training + equipment investment. Omaha Fire Department (~650 sworn + IAFF Local 385 + the largest NE fire department + the substantial post-2019 OFD Omaha Disaster Response + the substantial Omaha Fire + Rescue post-disaster training) supports substantial NE urban + post-disaster firefighter operations. Senior NE Omaha + Lincoln + Bellevue firefighter officers clear $72-112K + OT. The substantial NE meatpacking industrial fire brigade demand at Cargill Omaha + Schuyler + Tyson Foods Lexington + JBS USA Grand Island (the substantial NE meatpacking plant ammonia NH3 refrigeration system fire risk + the substantial NE post-2010 OSHA Process Safety Management compliance + the substantial NE meatpacking industrial fire brigade investment) supports substantial NE industrial fire brigade specialty work. Offutt Air Force Base substantial federal civilian firefighter work supporting USSTRATCOM facility fire. Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems NPERS Firefighter Plan (~$2B AUM + the substantial NE municipal firefighter pension covering substantially all NE career firefighters at 2.5% × years × FAS multiplier supporting career firefighter retirement after 25 years) provides NE firefighter pension. NE recognizes public-sector collective bargaining for firefighters via NE Industrial Relations Act + the substantial NE post-RTW preservation of firefighter collective bargaining. NE progressive 2.46-4.55% top by 2026 + NE RTW since 1947 + NE property tax ~1.61% + NE inheritance tax. The 2025 OBBBA No Tax on Overtime federal deduction applies through 2028.