Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers in Mississippi
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,500
after federal, FICA and Mississippi tax
Tax takes
$8,640
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,959
Mississippi costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Mississippi — 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
$46,140
Kept after tax
$37,500
Worth in national money
$42,959
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Mississippi pays this job a middle wage of $46,140, 51 of 51 states and about 39.46% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 277 among 486 occupations Mississippi publishes pay for.
- Here is where Mississippi does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $46,140 you keep $37,500, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,959 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $47,010, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Mississippi's $46,140 median for police and sheriff's patrol officers places it 51 of 51 states, about 39.46% 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.
- Position 277 of 486 in Mississippi 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.
- After federal, FICA and Mississippi income tax, retained pay for police and sheriff's patrol officers on $46,140 is $37,500. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,959 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 $47,010 sits above the median, the right skew typical of 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 | $33,230 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,550 |
| This salary | $46,140 |
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 Mississippi | $37,500 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,253 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,565 |
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 | $43,958 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,101 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $46,140 as a midpoint for Mississippi, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $33,230 and the ninetieth is $61,550 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Mississippi the take-home figure of $37,500, from $46,140, 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 277 of 486 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Mississippi, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $42,959, the adjusted value of that $46,140 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 277 of 486 in the state.
- The Mississippi median of $46,140 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $33,230 to $61,550. 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 Mississippi is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $37,500 from $46,140. 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 277 of 486 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Mississippi, so $42,959 — the adjusted value of that $46,140 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 277 of 486 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $33,230 and the top tenth $61,550, so most people doing this work in Mississippi sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Mississippi is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $42,959 in national terms.
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; Mississippi then takes its own share, leaving $37,500.
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 ($33,230 to $61,550) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Mississippi rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Mississippi'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 $42,959 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 $37,500 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Mississippi 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.