How much does a Police Officer make in Delaware?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $83,230 for Police Officers in Delaware as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $70,230 and the 75th-percentile is $103,560.

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Police Officer salary in Delaware?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 98.8 for Delaware), the real-wage equivalent is $84,276 — what the $83,230 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $71,113 to $104,861.

How are Delaware Police Officer salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

Where does Delaware rank for Police Officer pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Delaware ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

What are the limits of these Police Officer salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Delaware?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Delaware.

Is pension included in BLS police officer pay for Delaware?

No — BLS OEWS measures W-2 wage and salary income only. The defined-benefit pension is the single largest piece of police compensation and BLS never captures it. Delaware police pension formulas typically pay 50-75% of final-3-year average salary after 20-25 years of service, with most plans allowing retirement at 50-55. Including pension's actuarial present value, total police compensation in Delaware runs 30-50% above the BLS-reported figure.

How Much Do Police Officers Make in Delaware? $83K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Police Officers in Delaware earn a BLS median of $83,230, with real take-home of $84,276 after BEA RPP adjustment.
Nominal: #13/51 · Real: #11/51 — ranking shifts by 2 positions after RPP.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
P25-P75 spread runs $70,230 to $103,560; P10 floor $62,050, P90 ceiling $104,840.

Wage breakdown — Delaware

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$62,050	$62,830
P25 (lower quartile)	$70,230	$71,113
P50 (median)	$83,230	$84,276
P75 (upper quartile)	$103,560	$104,861
P90 (top tier)	$104,840	$106,157
Mean	$85,350	$86,423
Employment	1,790 Police Officers in Delaware

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Delaware index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	98.8
Goods	97.3
Services	104.4
Rents	98.9

Delaware's overall RPP (98.8) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Delaware (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Police Officer)	$83,230	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$9,558	11.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$4,262	2.2–6.6% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,367	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$63,043	75.7% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$63,835	÷ (98.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Delaware state-tax burden means for Police Officer take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.1% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $63,043 (75.7% of gross). After the 98.8 RPP, real take-home is $63,835.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $76,290 for Police Officers with mean pay of $79,320 and total employment of 666,990. Delaware sits at #13 on nominal pay and #11 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Delaware climbs 2 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Police Officer make in Delaware?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $83,230 for Police Officers in Delaware as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $70,230 and the 75th-percentile is $103,560.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Police Officer salary in Delaware?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 98.8 for Delaware), the real-wage equivalent is $84,276 — what the $83,230 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $71,113 to $104,861.
How are Delaware Police Officer salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
Where does Delaware rank for Police Officer pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Delaware ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
What are the limits of these Police Officer salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Delaware?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Delaware.
Is pension included in BLS police officer pay for Delaware?: No — BLS OEWS measures W-2 wage and salary income only. The defined-benefit pension is the single largest piece of police compensation and BLS never captures it. Delaware police pension formulas typically pay 50-75% of final-3-year average salary after 20-25 years of service, with most plans allowing retirement at 50-55. Including pension's actuarial present value, total police compensation in Delaware runs 30-50% above the BLS-reported figure.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 33-3051, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Delaware Police Officer pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.