Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers salary in Winston-Salem, NC

Median pay for police & sheriff's patrol officers in Winston-Salem, NC: $52,020/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $39,160 – $72,240 · about 1,270 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($69,845) by −$17,825 (-26%).

What it's really worth in Winston-Salem

With Winston-Salem's cost of living at 92 (US=100), that $52,020 has the buying power of about $56,789 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $60,145 · median home $283,871 · median rent $1,546/mo.

Full Winston-Salem cost of living & taxes →

How Winston-Salem ranks for this job

On raw pay, Winston-Salem, NC is 155th of the 186 metros we hold police & sheriff's patrol officers wages for. Once Winston-Salem's cost of living is applied, it ranks 156th.

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

What that salary buys in Winston-Salem

A median home in Winston-Salem, NC costs $283,871 — 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 $1,546/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 Winston-Salem.

Metro	Median pay	vs Winston-Salem	Rent vs Winston-Salem
San Jose, CA	$145,340	+179%	2.3×
San Francisco, CA	$134,860	+159%	2.1×
Vallejo, CA	$125,130	+141%	1.6×
Santa Maria, CA	$118,140	+127%	2.2×

Same job elsewhere in NC

Metro	Median pay	vs Winston-Salem	Rent vs Winston-Salem
Charlotte, NC	$60,680	+17%	1.1×
Raleigh, NC	$60,570	+16%	1.1×
Greensboro, NC	$53,700	+3%	0.9×
Durham, NC	$53,450	+3%	1.1×

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

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