Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers salary in Columbus, OH

Median pay for police & sheriff's patrol officers in Columbus, OH: $86,640/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $52,870 – $103,840 · about 4,530 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($69,845) by +$16,795 (+24%).

What it's really worth in Columbus

With Columbus's cost of living at 95 (US=100), that $86,640 has the buying power of about $91,557 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $76,541 · median home $333,537 · median rent $1,524/mo.

Full Columbus cost of living & taxes →

How Columbus ranks for this job

On raw pay, Columbus, OH is 39th of the 186 metros we hold police & sheriff's patrol officers wages for. Once Columbus's cost of living is applied, it ranks 27th.

Pay and living costs are roughly in step here, so Columbus sits in much the same place whether you look at raw salary or spending power.

What that salary buys in Columbus

A median home in Columbus, OH costs $333,537 — about 3.8× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,524/mo works out at 21% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.

Where police & sheriff's patrol officers earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Columbus.

Metro	Median pay	vs Columbus	Rent vs Columbus
San Jose, CA	$145,340	+68%	2.4×
San Francisco, CA	$134,860	+56%	2.1×
Vallejo, CA	$125,130	+44%	1.6×
Santa Maria, CA	$118,140	+36%	2.2×

Same job elsewhere in OH

Metro	Median pay	vs Columbus	Rent vs Columbus
Cincinnati, OH	$80,070	−8%	1×
Cleveland, OH	$79,420	−8%	1×
Toledo, OH	$71,340	−18%	0.9×
Akron, OH	$68,960	−20%	0.8×

Staying in OH keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

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