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

Median pay for police & sheriff's patrol officers in Hickory, NC: $49,350/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $37,720 – $63,790 · about 790 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($69,845) by −$20,495 (-29%).

What it's really worth in Hickory

With Hickory's cost of living at 89 (US=100), that $49,350 has the buying power of about $55,217 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $57,943 · median home $271,739 · median rent $1,496/mo.

Full Hickory cost of living & taxes →

How Hickory ranks for this job

On raw pay, Hickory, NC is 172nd of the 186 metros we hold police & sheriff's patrol officers wages for. Once Hickory's cost of living is applied, it ranks 161st.

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

What that salary buys in Hickory

A median home in Hickory, NC costs $271,739 — about 5.5× 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 $1,496/mo works out at 36% 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 Hickory.

Metro	Median pay	vs Hickory	Rent vs Hickory
San Jose, CA	$145,340	+195%	2.4×
San Francisco, CA	$134,860	+173%	2.2×
Vallejo, CA	$125,130	+154%	1.6×
Santa Maria, CA	$118,140	+139%	2.2×

Same job elsewhere in NC

Metro	Median pay	vs Hickory	Rent vs Hickory
Charlotte, NC	$60,680	+23%	1.2×
Raleigh, NC	$60,570	+23%	1.1×
Greensboro, NC	$53,700	+9%	1×
Durham, NC	$53,450	+8%	1.1×

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

Other jobs in Hickory