Firefighter Salary in Switzerland: What You Need to Know
Firefighters in Switzerland earn an estimated $57,071 USD per year, which is approximately CHF50,222 CHF at current exchange rates. This places Switzerland at #4 out of 42 countries in our global salary ranking for this occupation.
Compared to the United States, where Firefighters earn an estimated $58,000 USD per year, the salary in Switzerland is 2% lower. This difference reflects variations in local economies, cost of living, labor market conditions, and industry demand for Firefighters in Switzerland.
Purchasing Power and Cost of Living
While nominal salary figures provide a useful starting point, they don't tell the full story. When adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP), the salary for a Firefighter in Switzerland is equivalent to $43,567 USD. This means that after accounting for differences in the cost of goods and services, the real buying power of this salary is actually lower than the nominal figure suggests, indicating a relatively higher cost of living in Switzerland.
To put this in more tangible terms, using The Economist's Big Mac Index as an informal measure of purchasing power, a Firefighter's annual salary in Switzerland could buy approximately 7,499 Big Macs per year. This everyday comparison helps illustrate the real-world purchasing power of this salary beyond abstract currency conversions.
How Switzerland Compares Globally
Among the 42 countries we track, a Firefighter in Switzerland earns more than 93% of Firefighters worldwide. The highest-paying country for this role is United States at $62,640 USD, while the lowest is India at $6,959 USD.
These estimates are derived from publicly available data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), OECD average wages, World Bank purchasing power parity factors, and The Economist's Big Mac Index. The salary for each country is calculated by adjusting the U.S. baseline salary using country-specific wage ratios and sector multipliers. While these figures provide a useful benchmark, actual salaries can vary significantly based on experience level, company size, specific city or region, education, and industry sector.