I could come up with lots of state and/or national averages, but I know that averages don’t really tell the whole story in most cases. If you have a moment, and the urge to help me prove a point, may I ask a favor? Could you look up
(a) the average annual salary, or hourly pay, for a sheriff’s deputy in your county?
and
(b) the average (not median) cost for a home in the same county?
I’d also welcome similar data for average salary and home cost for a city law enforcement officer in your city, if you have that at hand, or don’t mind looking it up.
Yakima County, Washington State. County population is about 247,000; largest city is Yakima and that population is 93,000. I live just outside of Yakima in a small town that uses county sheriffs for law enforcment, so I don’t have local LEO info for you.
County deputy salary: starts at 19.68/hour up to 27.41/hour.
City of Yakima police officer salary: starts at 27.68/hour up to 37.52/hour.
According to Zillow, the average home price for a 3 bedroom single family is $152,400.