Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,777
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$17,533
22.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$62,922
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$77,310
Kept after tax
$59,777
Worth in national money
$62,922
State rank
20
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Utah pays this job around $77,310 at the midpoint, 20 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 132 among 487 occupations Utah publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $77,310 you keep $59,777 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $62,922 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $78,760, since top earners drag the number up.
- For police and sheriff's patrol officers the Utah median is $77,310, ranking 20 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Position 132 of 487 in Utah 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 in Utah is $59,777 after the full tax stack, from $77,310. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $62,922 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $78,760 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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 | $60,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,310 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,920 |
| This salary | $77,310 |
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 Utah | $59,777 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,218 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,133 |
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 | $72,420 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,947 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Utah earn less than $77,310. The published range is $60,290 up to $99,920, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Utah the take-home figure of $59,777, from $77,310, 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 132 of 487 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Utah, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $62,922, the adjusted value of that $77,310 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 132 of 487 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for police and sheriff's patrol officers in Utah the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $60,290 to $99,920. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Utah is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $59,777 from $77,310. 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 132 of 487 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Utah, so $62,922 — the adjusted value of that $77,310 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 132 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $60,290 at the tenth percentile, $99,920 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Utah is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $62,922 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; Utah then takes its own share, leaving $59,777.
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 ($60,290 to $99,920) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $62,922 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 $59,777 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.