First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,036
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$16,934
22.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,617
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$75,970
Kept after tax
$59,036
Worth in national money
$65,617
State rank
45
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Alabama pays this job a middle wage of $75,970, 45 of 51 states and about 28.36% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Alabama. It ranks 108 out of 482 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $75,970 you keep $59,036, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $65,617 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $82,000, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Alabama's $75,970 median for first-line supervisors of police and detectives places it 45 of 51 states, about 28.36% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Within Alabama, first-line supervisors of police and detectives ranks 108 of 482 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for first-line supervisors of police and detectives on $75,970 is $59,036. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $65,617 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $82,000 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $75,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $121,430 |
| This salary | $75,970 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $59,036 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,275 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,532 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $71,365 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,116 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of first-line supervisors of police and detectives in Alabama earn under $75,970 and half over. The published range runs $48,520 at the tenth percentile to $121,430 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Alabama the take-home figure of $59,036, from $75,970, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 108 of 482 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $65,617 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 108.
- Figures are distribution medians for first-line supervisors of police and detectives in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $48,520 to $121,430; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Alabama is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $59,036 from $75,970. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 108 of 482 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $65,617, worked from $75,970, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Alabama address, on work sitting at 108 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $82,000, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $48,520, the highest tenth $121,430, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $65,617.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $59,036.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Alabama is $82,000. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($48,520) and the ninetieth ($121,430) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $65,617 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $59,036 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.