Yikes, just looked on Glassdoor, $30k yearly for EMTs in the Providence, RI area. These are professionally certified people with numerous skills, first-contact for emergent health issues, and they get paid barely more than very low-skilled service workers, many of whom are now receiving $15/h (that's great for them, but damn EMTs deserve more).
In my high CoL state, EMTs make roughly $15-$18.75/hr, work multiple back-to-back shifts and often nights.