How much does a Police Officer make in Virginia?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $65,110 for Police Officers in Virginia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $58,100 and the 75th-percentile is $77,550.

How are Virginia 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.

How many Police Officers does Virginia employ?

BLS OES counts 19,400 Police Officers employed in Virginia in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Where does Virginia rank for Police Officer pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Virginia 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 Virginia?

P10 to P90 spans $50,160 to $96,700. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Does court time and off-duty security work appear in BLS for Virginia 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. Virginia 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 Virginia?

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 Virginia, 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 Virginia state and local positions at the senior level.

Virginia Police Officer Salary: BLS $65K Median, Real $64K (2026)

TL;DR

Headline Police Officer pay in Virginia is $65,110. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $64,255.
Nominal: #35/51 · Real: #41/51 — ranking shifts by 6 positions after RPP.
Cost adjustment is small — neither an arbitrage state nor a high-cost penalty.
Bottom quartile $58,100, top quartile $77,550. The P90 ($96,700) is roughly 1.9× the P10 ($50,160).

Wage breakdown — Virginia

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$50,160	$49,501
P25 (lower quartile)	$58,100	$57,337
P50 (median)	$65,110	$64,255
P75 (upper quartile)	$77,550	$76,531
P90 (top tier)	$96,700	$95,430
Mean	$70,330	$69,406
Employment	19,400 Police Officers in Virginia

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Virginia index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	101.3
Goods	101.1
Services	92.4
Rents	105.6

Virginia's overall RPP (101.3) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Virginia (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)	$65,110	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$5,675	8.7% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,998	2–5.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$4,981	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$51,456	79.0% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$50,780	÷ (101.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.6% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $51,456 (79.0% of gross). After the 101.3 RPP, real take-home is $50,780.

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. Virginia sits at #35 on nominal pay and #41 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Virginia falls 6 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Police Officer make in Virginia?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $65,110 for Police Officers in Virginia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $58,100 and the 75th-percentile is $77,550.
How are Virginia 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.
How many Police Officers does Virginia employ?: BLS OES counts 19,400 Police Officers employed in Virginia in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Where does Virginia rank for Police Officer pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Virginia 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 Virginia?: P10 to P90 spans $50,160 to $96,700. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Does court time and off-duty security work appear in BLS for Virginia 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. Virginia 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 Virginia?: 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 Virginia, 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 Virginia 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 Virginia 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.