First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$88,257
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$32,443
26.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$84,892
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$120,700
Kept after tax
$88,257
Worth in national money
$84,892
State rank
13
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Maryland's middle earner gets $120,700, putting the state 13 of 51 — about 13.82% ahead of the national figure.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations Maryland reports, this job comes in at 53 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $120,700 the take-home is $88,257. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $84,892 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $119,710, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For first-line supervisors of police and detectives, Maryland sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $120,700, ranking 13 of 51 and running about 13.82% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- First-line supervisors of police and detectives ranks 53 of 489 occupations by median in Maryland, 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $88,257 for first-line supervisors of police and detectives, from $120,700. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $84,892. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $119,710 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in 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 | $78,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $120,700 |
| Top tenth earn over | $160,590 |
| This salary | $120,700 |
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 Maryland | $88,257 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $93,742 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,576 |
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 | $112,903 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$15,990 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
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 Maryland earn under $120,700 and half over. The published range runs $78,720 at the tenth percentile to $160,590 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $88,257 take-home in Maryland comes from $120,700. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 53 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maryland, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $84,892, the adjusted value of that $120,700 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 53 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for first-line supervisors of police and detectives in Maryland, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $78,720 to $160,590; 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.
- Retained pay of $88,257, from $120,700, assumes a single Maryland filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 53 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 13 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maryland, so $84,892 — the adjusted value of that $120,700 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 53 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $78,720 and the top tenth $160,590, so most people doing this work in Maryland sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $84,892 of national purchasing power.
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 Maryland's own levy, $88,257 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($78,720 to $160,590) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $84,892 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $88,257 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.