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

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 104.8 for Oregon), the real-wage equivalent is $84,093 — what the $88,140 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $74,896 to $94,627.

How are Oregon 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.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Oregon?

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 Oregon.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Is pension included in BLS police officer pay for Oregon?

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. Oregon 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 Oregon runs 30-50% above the BLS-reported figure.

Does court time and off-duty security work appear in BLS for Oregon police?

Court appearances on off-duty time and overtime hours show up in W-2, so BLS captures them. Off-duty security details (banks, schools, sporting events, construction sites) are typically paid through department-administered programs and run through W-2 — those are captured. Independently arranged moonlighting that bypasses department channels is not. Oregon departments with high paid-detail volume (urban centers, college towns) push BLS-reported pay 10-25% above smaller jurisdictions in the same state.

Federal vs state trooper vs city / county pay in Oregon?

BLS aggregates city PD, county sheriff, and state troopers under SOC 33-3051 (federal officers are separately classified under 33-3052 and not reflected in this page). In Oregon, state troopers typically lead on starting base, big-city PDs lead on overtime opportunity and detail income, and sheriff's deputies usually trail on base but lead on assignment flexibility. Federal LE (FBI, USMS, ATF, DEA, ICE, Border Patrol) pays under the GS scale plus LEAP availability pay (25%) and locality, putting federal LE pay above most Oregon state and local positions at the senior level.

Police Officer Pay in Oregon: $88K Median + Purchasing Power (2026)

TL;DR

BLS reports Oregon Police Officer median pay at $88,140. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $84,093.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
Bottom quartile $78,500, top quartile $99,180. The P90 ($112,530) is roughly 1.6× the P10 ($68,270).
Nominal: #10/51 · Real: #12/51 — ranking shifts by 2 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — Oregon

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$68,270	$65,136
P25 (lower quartile)	$78,500	$74,896
P50 (median)	$88,140	$84,093
P75 (upper quartile)	$99,180	$94,627
P90 (top tier)	$112,530	$107,364
Mean	$88,260	$84,208
Employment	4,950 Police Officers in Oregon

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Oregon index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	104.8
Goods	104.8
Services	91.0
Rents	109.2

Oregon's overall RPP (104.8) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Oregon (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)	$88,140	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$10,638	12.1% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$7,171	4.75–9.9% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,743	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$63,588	72.1% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$60,669	÷ (104.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Oregon carries one of the heavier state-tax loads in the country at this income tier (8.1% effective on the BLS median). Combined with federal and FICA, gross-to-take-home spread is 27.9%, leaving $63,588 pre-RPP and $60,669 after the 104.8 cost-of-living index — a $27,471 gap from the headline gross.

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. Oregon sits at #10 on nominal pay and #12 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Oregon falls 2 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Police Officer salary in Oregon?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 104.8 for Oregon), the real-wage equivalent is $84,093 — what the $88,140 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $74,896 to $94,627.
How are Oregon 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.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Oregon?: 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 Oregon.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Is pension included in BLS police officer pay for Oregon?: 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. Oregon 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 Oregon runs 30-50% above the BLS-reported figure.
Does court time and off-duty security work appear in BLS for Oregon police?: Court appearances on off-duty time and overtime hours show up in W-2, so BLS captures them. Off-duty security details (banks, schools, sporting events, construction sites) are typically paid through department-administered programs and run through W-2 — those are captured. Independently arranged moonlighting that bypasses department channels is not. Oregon departments with high paid-detail volume (urban centers, college towns) push BLS-reported pay 10-25% above smaller jurisdictions in the same state.
Federal vs state trooper vs city / county pay in Oregon?: BLS aggregates city PD, county sheriff, and state troopers under SOC 33-3051 (federal officers are separately classified under 33-3052 and not reflected in this page). In Oregon, state troopers typically lead on starting base, big-city PDs lead on overtime opportunity and detail income, and sheriff's deputies usually trail on base but lead on assignment flexibility. Federal LE (FBI, USMS, ATF, DEA, ICE, Border Patrol) pays under the GS scale plus LEAP availability pay (25%) and locality, putting federal LE pay above most Oregon state and local positions at the senior level.

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 Oregon 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.