Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers salary in Wichita, KS
Median pay for police & sheriff's patrol officers in Wichita, KS: $54,650/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $40,950 – $73,860 · about 1,120 employed locally
Below the typical metro median ($69,845) by −$15,195 (-22%).
What it's really worth in Wichita
With Wichita's cost of living at 89 (US=100), that $54,650 has the buying power of about $61,115 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $66,643 · median home $225,557 · median rent $1,201/mo.
How Wichita ranks for this job
On raw pay, Wichita, KS is 143rd of the 186 metros we hold police & sheriff's patrol officers wages for. Once Wichita's cost of living is applied, it ranks 139th.
Pay and living costs are roughly in step here, so Wichita sits in much the same place whether you look at raw salary or spending power.
What that salary buys in Wichita
A median home in Wichita, KS costs $225,557 — about 4.1× 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 $1,201/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 Wichita.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Wichita | Rent vs Wichita |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $145,340 | +166% | 3× |
| San Francisco, CA | $134,860 | +147% | 2.7× |
| Vallejo, CA | $125,130 | +129% | 2× |
| Santa Maria, CA | $118,140 | +116% | 2.8× |
Other jobs in Wichita
Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 186 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.