First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$93,439
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$37,641
28.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$94,142
Delaware costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Delaware — 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
$131,080
Kept after tax
$93,439
Worth in national money
$94,142
State rank
9
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Delaware pays this job a middle wage of $131,080, ranking 9 of 51 states and sitting about 23.61% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 445 occupations Delaware reports, this job comes in at 34 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- No great distortion either way. Delaware costs about what the country costs, so from $131,080, take-home of $93,439 is worth roughly $94,142 in national money. The average comes to $137,020, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Delaware's median for first-line supervisors of police and detectives is $131,080, about 23.61% above the national figure and 9 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- First-line supervisors of police and detectives ranks 34 of 445 occupations by median in Delaware, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Price parity in Delaware is near the national base, so for first-line supervisors of police and detectives, whose median is $131,080, the adjusted figure of $94,142 differs little from $93,439 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $137,020 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $98,030 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $131,080 |
| Top tenth earn over | $190,120 |
| This salary | $131,080 |
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 Delaware | $93,439 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $100,859 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,649 |
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 | $120,269 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$13,592 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $131,080 as a midpoint for Delaware, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $98,030 and the ninetieth is $190,120 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Delaware the take-home figure of $93,439, from $131,080, 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 34 of 445 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $94,142 uses one figure for the whole of Delaware. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 445 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 34.
- The Delaware median of $131,080 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $98,030 to $190,120. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Delaware is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $93,439 from $131,080. 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 34 of 445 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $94,142, worked from $131,080, 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 Delaware address, on work sitting at 34 of 445 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $137,020 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $98,030 at the bottom tenth to $190,120 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Delaware is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $94,142 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Delaware's own levy, $93,439 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Delaware is $137,020. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($98,030 to $190,120) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Delaware rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Delaware'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 $94,142 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 $93,439 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware 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.