Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians
Also called: Ambulance Driver, Driver, EMS Driver (Emergency Medical Services Driver), First ResponderDrive ambulance or assist ambulance driver in transporting sick, injured, or convalescent persons. Assist in lifting patients.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 1 of its 11 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 1.3% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 2.5% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.0 hires for every 10 job openings in health care and social assistance, which employs about 80% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.5.0 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $24,420 | $23,820 to $29,710 | 230 |
| Arkansas | $32,720 | $31,280 to $43,730 | 70 |
| California | $36,150 | $34,990 to $39,370 | 1,420 |
| Colorado | $30,800 | $30,800 to $37,520 | 70 |
| Connecticut | $73,730 | $37,200 to $75,470 | 280 |
| Delaware | $34,400 | $33,190 to $38,870 | 50 |
| Florida | $35,020 | $31,940 to $41,230 | 210 |
| Georgia | $35,950 | $29,250 to $36,900 | 390 |
| Illinois | $36,730 | $34,310 to $37,060 | 610 |
| Indiana | $33,280 | $30,330 to $42,330 | 240 |
| Iowa | $36,090 | $31,460 to $37,000 | 370 |
| Kentucky | $32,850 | $29,990 to $35,940 | 130 |
| Louisiana | $27,410 | $27,290 to $28,870 | 120 |
| Maine | $34,690 | $31,510 to $39,230 | 170 |
| Maryland | $38,410 | $37,900 to $43,180 | 300 |
| Massachusetts | $39,480 | $37,480 to $40,530 | not published |
| Michigan | $31,770 | $28,350 to $37,960 | not published |
| Minnesota | $32,670 | $31,200 to $43,950 | not published |
| Mississippi | $25,170 | $20,900 to $29,340 | 300 |
| Montana | $36,050 | $31,270 to $43,170 | 180 |
| Nebraska | $35,020 | $29,450 to $38,420 | 280 |
| Nevada | $36,440 | $36,430 to $37,420 | 60 |
| New Hampshire | $35,730 | $34,230 to $37,010 | 30 |
| New Jersey | $36,170 | $36,170 to $40,420 | 170 |
| New Mexico | $28,700 | $27,620 to $32,290 | 70 |
| New York | $37,230 | $36,220 to $41,600 | 610 |
| North Carolina | $32,450 | $28,530 to $36,300 | not published |
| North Dakota | $37,690 | $28,500 to $52,120 | 120 |
| Ohio | $35,560 | $31,410 to $37,350 | 410 |
| Oklahoma | $28,140 | $27,650 to $31,200 | not published |
| Oregon | $40,900 | $36,000 to $40,900 | 40 |
| Pennsylvania | $32,730 | $29,470 to $35,910 | 1,400 |
| Puerto Rico | $22,940 | $22,370 to $23,180 | 520 |
| South Carolina | $29,300 | $27,600 to $34,000 | 620 |
| South Dakota | $29,190 | $29,180 to $29,870 | 160 |
| Tennessee | $35,740 | $33,280 to $45,960 | 460 |
| Texas | $31,010 | $25,800 to $32,530 | 550 |
| Utah | $37,660 | $37,600 to $41,270 | 50 |
| Vermont | $35,690 | $35,690 to $41,690 | 40 |
| Virginia | $36,980 | $31,270 to $43,990 | 370 |
| West Virginia | $26,240 | $22,930 to $28,290 | 170 |
| Wisconsin | $37,450 | $29,830 to $41,360 | 230 |
Nationally: $35,450. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 1 of its 11 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Place patients on stretchers, and load stretchers into ambulances, usually with assistance from other attendants. | Not published |
| Not much | Earn and maintain appropriate certifications. | Not published |
| Not much | Drive ambulances or assist ambulance drivers in transporting sick, injured, or convalescent persons. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove and replace soiled linens or equipment to maintain sanitary conditions. | Not published |
| Not much | Replace supplies and disposable items on ambulances. | Not published |
| Not much | Administer first aid, such as bandaging, splinting, or administering oxygen. | Not published |
See all 11 tasks
| Not much | Accompany and assist emergency medical technicians on calls. | Not published |
| AI + software | Report facts concerning accidents or emergencies to hospital personnel or law enforcement officials. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean and wash rigs, ambulances, or equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Restrain or shackle violent patients. | Not published |
| Not much | Perform minor maintenance on emergency medical services vehicles, such as ambulances. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 11 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 11 tasks fall under 8 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administer emergency medical treatment | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Notify others of emergencies or problems | |||
| Maintain vehicles in working condition | |||
| Operate transportation equipment or vehicles | |||
| Stock supplies or products | |||
| Assist healthcare practitioners during medical procedures |
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for ambulance drivers and attendants, except emergency medical technicians specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 2,642 moves out
- 1 Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 12%
- 2 First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers Low +3.7% 11%
- 3 Recreation Workers Moderate +4.3% 6%
- 4 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 5%
- 5 Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary Very high -0.3% 5%
Where people moved in from
of 2,497 moves in
- 1 Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 15%
- 2 Recreation Workers Moderate +4.3% 8%
- 3 Nursing Assistants Low +2.6% 5%
- 4 First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers Low +3.7% 4%
- 5 Registered Nurses High +5.6% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 4% less than high school
- 43% high school
- 26% some college
- 11% associate's
- 16% bachelor's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 87 people surveyed.
1 program: Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance).
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
>99.5% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | 36.5% | 19.1% |
| a certification | 11.1% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (Ambulance Attendant (EMT)). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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