Best Cities for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where police and sheriff's patrol officerss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.49	$136,140	$113,261	28%
2	Columbus, OHMetro	1.42	$100,890	$107,904	15%
3	CaliforniaState	1.41	$118,880	$107,389	23%
4	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.37	$121,980	$104,704	22%
5	IllinoisState	1.35	$100,520	$103,203	16%
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.32	$115,120	$100,717	23%
7	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.28	$97,190	$97,678	18%
8	AlaskaState	1.25	$99,130	$95,043	17%
9	WashingtonState	1.25	$102,080	$95,135	22%
10	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.25	$92,910	$95,586	20%
11	ColoradoState	1.21	$97,350	$92,362	23%
12	DelawareState	1.21	$92,970	$92,050	17%
13	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.18	$83,190	$89,935	17%
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.18	$97,200	$90,167	22%
15	PennsylvaniaState	1.16	$85,470	$88,113	18%
16	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.14	$89,580	$86,551	21%
17	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.13	$78,450	$86,020	19%
18	MinnesotaState	1.12	$83,360	$85,061	18%
19	New JerseyState	1.12	$92,610	$85,119	23%
20	OhioState	1.12	$77,020	$85,199	16%
21	OregonState	1.12	$88,140	$85,573	22%
22	WisconsinState	1.11	$78,090	$84,605	17%
23	IowaState	1.10	$74,470	$83,487	15%
24	New YorkState	1.08	$92,790	$82,480	24%
25	NebraskaState	1.07	$74,620	$81,552	17%
26	IndianaState	1.06	$73,370	$81,072	17%
27	North DakotaState	1.06	$74,500	$80,454	16%
28	MichiganState	1.05	$73,730	$79,881	18%
29	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.05	$73,860	$80,283	21%
30	TexasState	1.04	$75,900	$79,393	22%
31	ArizonaState	1.03	$78,880	$78,176	23%
32	District of ColumbiaState	1.02	$88,650	$77,559	28%
33	NevadaState	1.02	$78,140	$77,984	22%
34	Rhode IslandState	1.01	$77,230	$76,846	23%
35	UtahState	1.01	$77,310	$77,156	23%
36	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.01	$75,710	$76,863	27%
37	ConnecticutState	1.00	$82,170	$76,366	23%
38	HawaiiState	1.00	$83,820	$76,200	34%
39	New MexicoState	0.99	$69,180	$75,196	18%
40	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.98	$84,000	$74,468	29%
41	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.97	$79,840	$73,585	31%
42	FloridaState	0.96	$74,470	$73,369	28%
43	MassachusettsState	0.95	$78,940	$72,756	34%
44	MontanaState	0.95	$70,050	$72,666	19%
45	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.95	$76,530	$72,335	26%
46	MarylandState	0.94	$77,970	$71,401	26%
47	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.94	$68,780	$71,497	27%
48	WyomingState	0.93	$66,140	$71,118	18%
49	IdahoState	0.91	$66,990	$69,420	21%
50	KentuckyState	0.90	$60,490	$68,350	19%
51	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.90	$78,180	$68,881	39%
52	New HampshireState	0.89	$71,640	$67,585	27%
53	OklahomaState	0.89	$59,700	$67,458	19%
54	West VirginiaState	0.89	$56,960	$67,648	18%
55	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.89	$62,960	$67,845	24%
56	MaineState	0.88	$67,050	$67,184	23%
57	MissouriState	0.88	$59,460	$67,111	21%
58	South DakotaState	0.88	$60,740	$66,894	19%
59	VermontState	0.88	$68,910	$67,229	25%
60	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.87	$63,190	$65,960	29%
61	KansasState	0.86	$59,230	$65,811	21%
62	TennesseeState	0.85	$59,280	$64,787	25%
63	VirginiaState	0.84	$65,870	$63,643	29%
64	South CarolinaState	0.83	$58,070	$63,120	26%
65	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.83	$60,910	$62,924	32%
66	GeorgiaState	0.82	$58,120	$62,227	29%
67	North CarolinaState	0.82	$59,300	$62,818	26%
68	AlabamaState	0.77	$51,270	$58,863	22%
69	ArkansasState	0.72	$47,670	$55,238	22%
70	MississippiState	0.71	$46,140	$54,410	23%
71	LouisianaState	0.70	$48,380	$53,696	26%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).