Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,685
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$16,545
21.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$59,840
Rhode Island costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Rhode Island — 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
$77,230
Kept after tax
$60,685
Worth in national money
$59,840
State rank
21
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Rhode Island is 21 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $77,230. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 170 among 452 occupations Rhode Island publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Rhode Island costs about what the country costs, so from $77,230, take-home of $60,685 is worth roughly $59,840 in national money. The average comes to $78,760, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Rhode Island ranks 21 of 51 for police and sheriff's patrol officers at $77,230. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 170 of 452 in Rhode Island 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.
- Price parity in Rhode Island is near the national base, so for police and sheriff's patrol officers, whose median is $77,230, the adjusted figure of $59,840 differs little from $60,685 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $78,760 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $59,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $91,760 |
| This salary | $77,230 |
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 Rhode Island | $60,685 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,161 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,157 |
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 | $73,710 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,124 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Rhode Island earn less than $77,230. The published range is $59,020 up to $91,760, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $60,685 take-home in Rhode Island comes from $77,230. 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 170 of 452.
- Two cautions on $59,840, the adjusted value of that $77,230 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Rhode Island. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 170 of 452 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for police and sheriff's patrol officers in Rhode Island the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $59,020 to $91,760. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $60,685, from $77,230, assumes a single Rhode Island 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 170 of 452 locally, and the state ranks 21 of 51 for it.
- This $59,840 adjusted figure, worked from $77,230, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 170 of 452 in the state. The occupation ranks 170 of 452 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $59,020 and the top tenth $91,760, so most people doing this work in Rhode Island sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Rhode Island run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $59,840 — 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; Rhode Island then takes its own share, leaving $60,685.
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 ($59,020 to $91,760) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Rhode Island rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Rhode Island's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $59,840 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 $60,685 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Rhode Island 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.