Averages

• Paramedics in the greater Sacramento area of California, including Arden Arcade and Roseville, had an average salary of $19.73 per hour as of May 2009, or $41,040 per year, according to the BLS. That was about 15 percent higher than the California statewide average for this occupation of $16.87 per hour, and about 20 percent higher than the nationwide average of $15.88 per hour.
  
  

Salary Range

• The middle 50 percent of Sacramento-area paramedics were earning $16.20 to $23.08 per hour in 2009, or $33,690 to $48,000 per year. The bottom 10 percent had hourly pay rates at or below $13.43, and the top 10 percent were making $26.94 per hour and higher, or $56,040 per year and more. The statewide range was wider, with the bottom 10 percent of California paramedics earning $9.83 per hour and less and the top 10 percent $27.29 and higher.
  
  

Comparisons

• California paramedics were earning the highest average pay rates in the eastern Sierra nonmetropolitan region, at $23.56 per hour, and in Madera, at $22.68 per hour. The lowest average salaries for paramedics were in El Centro at $11.93 per hour and the Visalia-Porterville area at $11.95 per hour. The most similar paramedic salaries to that in Sacramento were in the greater San Francisco area including Oakland, Fremont and Hayward, where the average was about $19 to $20 per hour, and in Salinas, with an average of $20.65 per hour.
  
  

Requirements

• As in all other states, paramedics in California must be licensed. This requires completing a certain level of state-approved training and passing an exam from the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. Exams are administered at locations throughout the state.