Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers salary in Chattanooga, TN

Median pay for police & sheriff's patrol officers in Chattanooga, TN: $45,150/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $39,480 – $54,080 · about 720 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($69,845) by −$24,695 (-35%).

What it's really worth in Chattanooga

With Chattanooga's cost of living at 92 (US=100), that $45,150 has the buying power of about $48,890 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $65,387 · median home $326,370 · median rent $1,530/mo.

Full Chattanooga cost of living & taxes →

How Chattanooga ranks for this job

On raw pay, Chattanooga, TN is 183rd of the 186 metros we hold police & sheriff's patrol officers wages for. Once Chattanooga's cost of living is applied, it ranks 183rd.

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

What that salary buys in Chattanooga

A median home in Chattanooga, TN costs $326,370 — about 7.2× 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 $1,530/mo works out at 41% 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 Chattanooga.

Metro	Median pay	vs Chattanooga	Rent vs Chattanooga
San Jose, CA	$145,340	+222%	2.4×
San Francisco, CA	$134,860	+199%	2.1×
Vallejo, CA	$125,130	+177%	1.6×
Santa Maria, CA	$118,140	+162%	2.2×

Same job elsewhere in TN

Metro	Median pay	vs Chattanooga	Rent vs Chattanooga
Memphis, TN	$64,360	+43%	0.9×
Nashville, TN	$60,220	+33%	1.2×
Clarksville, TN	$52,000	+15%	0.9×
Kingsport, TN	$49,470	+10%	0.9×

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

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