Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers salary in Reading, PA

Median pay for police & sheriff's patrol officers in Reading, PA: $83,470/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $55,410 – $108,560 · about 640 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($69,845) by +$13,625 (+20%).

What it's really worth in Reading

With Reading's cost of living at 96 (US=100), that $83,470 has the buying power of about $86,528 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $74,617 · median home $312,348 · median rent $1,505/mo.

Full Reading cost of living & taxes →

How Reading ranks for this job

On raw pay, Reading, PA is 50th of the 186 metros we hold police & sheriff's patrol officers wages for. Once Reading's cost of living is applied, it ranks 46th.

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

What that salary buys in Reading

A median home in Reading, PA costs $312,348 — about 3.7× 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 $1,505/mo works out at 22% 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 Reading.

Metro	Median pay	vs Reading	Rent vs Reading
San Jose, CA	$145,340	+74%	2.4×
San Francisco, CA	$134,860	+62%	2.2×
Vallejo, CA	$125,130	+50%	1.6×
Santa Maria, CA	$118,140	+42%	2.2×

Same job elsewhere in PA

Metro	Median pay	vs Reading	Rent vs Reading
Erie, PA	$90,510	+8%	0.8×
Harrisburg, PA	$88,760	+6%	1×
Lancaster, PA	$88,140	+6%	1×
Allentown, PA	$85,840	+3%	1.2×

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