Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers salary in Denver, CO

Median pay for police & sheriff's patrol officers in Denver, CO: $100,790/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $69,490 – $105,840 · about 5,170 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($69,845) by +$30,945 (+44%).

What it's really worth in Denver

With Denver's cost of living at 106 (US=100), that $100,790 has the buying power of about $95,293 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $96,920 · median home $573,221 · median rent $1,910/mo.

Full Denver cost of living & taxes →

How Denver ranks for this job

On raw pay, Denver, CO is 19th of the 186 metros we hold police & sheriff's patrol officers wages for. Once Denver's cost of living is applied, it ranks 21st.

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

What that salary buys in Denver

A median home in Denver, CO costs $573,221 — about 5.7× 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 $1,910/mo works out at 23% 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 Denver.

Metro	Median pay	vs Denver	Rent vs Denver
San Jose, CA	$145,340	+44%	1.9×
San Francisco, CA	$134,860	+34%	1.7×
Vallejo, CA	$125,130	+24%	1.3×
Santa Maria, CA	$118,140	+17%	1.7×

Same job elsewhere in CO

Metro	Median pay	vs Denver	Rent vs Denver
Fort Collins, CO	$99,280	−1%	1×
Boulder, CO	$90,590	−10%	1.2×
Colorado Springs, CO	$89,590	−11%	0.9×
Greeley, CO	$85,600	−15%	0.9×

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

Other jobs in Denver