Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers salary in Merced, CA

Median pay for police & sheriff's patrol officers in Merced, CA: $92,460/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $38,690 – $143,420 · about 320 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($69,845) by +$22,615 (+32%).

What it's really worth in Merced

With Merced's cost of living at 100 (US=100), that $92,460 has the buying power of about $92,815 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $64,772 · median home $419,171 · median rent $1,975/mo.

Full Merced cost of living & taxes →

How Merced ranks for this job

On raw pay, Merced, CA is 25th of the 186 metros we hold police & sheriff's patrol officers wages for. Once Merced's cost of living is applied, it ranks 22nd.

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

What that salary buys in Merced

A median home in Merced, CA costs $419,171 — about 4.5× 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 $1,975/mo works out at 26% 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 Merced.

Metro	Median pay	vs Merced	Rent vs Merced
San Jose, CA	$145,340	+57%	1.8×
San Francisco, CA	$134,860	+46%	1.6×
Vallejo, CA	$125,130	+35%	1.2×
Santa Maria, CA	$118,140	+28%	1.7×

Same job elsewhere in CA

Metro	Median pay	vs Merced	Rent vs Merced
San Jose, CA	$145,340	+57%	1.8×
San Francisco, CA	$134,860	+46%	1.6×
Vallejo, CA	$125,130	+35%	1.2×
Santa Maria, CA	$118,140	+28%	1.7×

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

Other jobs in Merced