Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$85,498
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$33,382
28.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$75,944
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$118,880
Kept after tax
$85,498
Worth in national money
$75,944
State rank
1
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays this job a middle wage of $118,880, ranking 1 of 51 states and sitting about 55.99% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations California reports, this job comes in at 92 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $118,880 the take-home is $85,498. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $75,944 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $112,980, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- California's median for police and sheriff's patrol officers is $118,880, about 55.99% above the national figure and 1 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.
- Police and sheriff's patrol officers ranks 92 of 492 occupations by median in California, 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 California income tax is $85,498 for police and sheriff's patrol officers, from $118,880. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $75,944. ⚠️ 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 $112,980 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $76,300 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $118,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $153,190 |
| This salary | $118,880 |
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 California | $85,498 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $92,462 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$19,206 |
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 | $108,981 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$26,530 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $118,880 as a midpoint for California, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $76,300 and the ninetieth is $153,190 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $85,498 take-home in California comes from $118,880. 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 92 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $75,944, the adjusted value of that $118,880 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 92 of 492 in the state.
- The California median of $118,880 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $76,300 to $153,190. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $85,498, from $118,880, assumes a single California 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 92 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 1 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $75,944 — the adjusted value of that $118,880 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 92 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $112,980, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $76,300 and the top tenth $153,190, so most people doing this work in California 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 $75,944 of national purchasing power.
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; California then takes its own share, leaving $85,498.
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 California is $112,980. 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 ($76,300 to $153,190) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $75,944 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 $85,498 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.