Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers salary in Durham, NC

Median pay for police & sheriff's patrol officers in Durham, NC: $53,450/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $41,150 – $77,150 · about 1,150 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($69,845) by −$16,395 (-23%).

What it's really worth in Durham

With Durham's cost of living at 97 (US=100), that $53,450 has the buying power of about $54,907 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $76,040 · median home $414,340 · median rent $1,703/mo.

Full Durham cost of living & taxes →

How Durham ranks for this job

On raw pay, Durham, NC is 149th of the 186 metros we hold police & sheriff's patrol officers wages for. Once Durham's cost of living is applied, it ranks 162nd.

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

What that salary buys in Durham

A median home in Durham, NC costs $414,340 — about 7.8× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is harder here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,703/mo works out at 38% of gross pay — above the conventional 30% affordability ceiling, so renting would stretch this salary.

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 Durham.

Metro	Median pay	vs Durham	Rent vs Durham
San Jose, CA	$145,340	+172%	2.1×
San Francisco, CA	$134,860	+152%	1.9×
Vallejo, CA	$125,130	+134%	1.4×
Santa Maria, CA	$118,140	+121%	2×

Same job elsewhere in NC

Metro	Median pay	vs Durham	Rent vs Durham
Charlotte, NC	$60,680	+14%	1×
Raleigh, NC	$60,570	+13%	1×
Greensboro, NC	$53,700	+0%	0.8×
Winston-Salem, NC	$52,020	−3%	0.9×

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

Other jobs in Durham