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

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 105.4 for New Hampshire), the real-wage equivalent is $64,160 — what the $67,620 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $57,537 to $73,809.

How are New Hampshire 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.

What does the top of the Police Officer pay scale look like in New Hampshire?

The 90th percentile lands at $89,120. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $77,790.

Why is the BEA RPP for New Hampshire different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. New Hampshire's overall index of 105.4 reflects rents 114.5, services 156.2, and goods 100.0.

Where does New Hampshire rank for Police Officer pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, New Hampshire 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.

How wide is the wage spread in New Hampshire?

P10 to P90 spans $54,410 to $89,120. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Is New Hampshire a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Police Officers?

No — New Hampshire's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.

New Hampshire Police Officer Salary: BLS $68K Median, Real $64K (2026)

TL;DR

$67,620 is the BLS median wage for Police Officers in New Hampshire; $64,160 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
State ranks #31 nationally on nominal wage, #42 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
Wage envelope: $54,410 (P10) to $89,120 (P90), with quartiles at $60,640 and $77,790.

Wage breakdown — New Hampshire

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$54,410	$51,626
P25 (lower quartile)	$60,640	$57,537
P50 (median)	$67,620	$64,160
P75 (upper quartile)	$77,790	$73,809
P90 (top tier)	$89,120	$84,560
Mean	$70,060	$66,475
Employment	2,550 Police Officers in New Hampshire

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	New Hampshire index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	105.4
Goods	100.0
Services	156.2
Rents	114.5

New Hampshire is a high-cost state — RPP 105.4 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (114.5) and services (156.2).

After-tax take-home — New Hampshire (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)	$67,620	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$6,123	9.1% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no tax on wage income (interest/dividends only, repealed 2027)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$5,173	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$56,324	83.3% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$53,442	÷ (105.4 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

New Hampshire levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $3,381 a year for a Police Officer at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After cost of living, real take-home is $53,442 — lower than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP exceeds 100.

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. New Hampshire sits at #31 on nominal pay and #42 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, New Hampshire falls 11 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Police Officer salary in New Hampshire?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 105.4 for New Hampshire), the real-wage equivalent is $64,160 — what the $67,620 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $57,537 to $73,809.
How are New Hampshire 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.
What does the top of the Police Officer pay scale look like in New Hampshire?: The 90th percentile lands at $89,120. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $77,790.
Why is the BEA RPP for New Hampshire different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. New Hampshire's overall index of 105.4 reflects rents 114.5, services 156.2, and goods 100.0.
Where does New Hampshire rank for Police Officer pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, New Hampshire 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.
How wide is the wage spread in New Hampshire?: P10 to P90 spans $54,410 to $89,120. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Is New Hampshire a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Police Officers?: No — New Hampshire's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.

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 New Hampshire 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.