Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers in Connecticut
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,867
after federal, FICA and Connecticut tax
Tax takes
$19,303
23.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,631
Connecticut costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Connecticut — 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
$82,170
Kept after tax
$62,867
Worth in national money
$60,631
State rank
14
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Connecticut is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $82,170, which ranks 14 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 7.82% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 146 among 482 occupations Connecticut publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $82,170 the take-home is $62,867. But Connecticut costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $60,631 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $83,920, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Connecticut ranks 14 of 51 states publishing a median for police and sheriff's patrol officers, at $82,170 — about 7.82% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 146 of 482 in Connecticut places police and sheriff's patrol officers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Connecticut income tax is $62,867 for police and sheriff's patrol officers, from $82,170. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $60,631. ⚠️ 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 $83,920 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,310 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $82,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $102,660 |
| This salary | $82,170 |
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 Connecticut | $62,867 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $66,637 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,943 |
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 | $76,812 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,972 |
| 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 police and sheriff's patrol officers in Connecticut earn under $82,170 and half over. The published range runs $63,310 at the tenth percentile to $102,660 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $62,867 take-home in Connecticut comes from $82,170. 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 146 of 482.
- One number stands for prices across all of Connecticut, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $60,631, the adjusted value of that $82,170 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 146 of 482 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for police and sheriff's patrol officers in Connecticut, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $63,310 to $102,660; 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 $62,867, from $82,170, assumes a single Connecticut 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 146 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 14 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Connecticut, so $60,631 — the adjusted value of that $82,170 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 146 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $63,310 and the top tenth $102,660, so most people doing this work in Connecticut sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Connecticut run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $60,631 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; Connecticut then takes its own share, leaving $62,867.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($63,310 to $102,660) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Connecticut rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Connecticut's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $60,631 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 $62,867 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Connecticut 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.