Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers Salary in Nebraska

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers in Nebraska have a median of $74,620 a year, below the national $76,210 (−2%); the state ranks 24th of 51 states by median. Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers earn 52% more than the median across all occupations in Nebraska ($48,980). Among neighbouring states, Colorado pays more (up to $97,350 in Colorado) and Iowa, Wyoming, South Dakota, Missouri and Kansas pay less (down to $59,230 in Kansas). Nebraska employs 3,490 police and sheriff's patrol officers, 3.41 per 1,000 jobs, the 38th largest count of any state. A location quotient of 0.79 means it is less common in Nebraska than nationally.

Nebraska vs the United States, May 2025

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in Nebraska and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Nebraska	Hourly	$26.29	$30.37	$35.88	$44.94	$45.78	$36.20	3,490	3.41	0.79
Nebraska	Annual	$54,680	$63,170	$74,620	$93,480	$95,210	$75,290	3,490	3.41	0.79
United States	Hourly	$22.84	$28.50	$36.64	$46.93	$55.35	$38.08	670,520	–	–
United States	Annual	$47,510	$59,290	$76,210	$97,600	$115,120	$79,200	670,520	–	–

Nebraska annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

Rank by median: 24th of 51 states
Rank by employment: 38th of 51 states
Location quotient: 0.79
Jobs per 1,000: 3.41

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of Nebraska's employment divided by its national share; 1.00 means the same share as the nation. Take-home pay at these wages: FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.

Metropolitan areas in Nebraska

4 metropolitan areas and 3 nonmetropolitan areas touching Nebraska publish a row for police and sheriff's patrol officers, sorted by median. Areas crossing a state line are listed under every state they touch; a linked metro has its own profile.

Area	Median hourly	Median annual	10th pct (annual)	90th pct (annual)	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Lincoln, NE	$45.04	$93,680	$62,660	$95,030	510	2.79	0.65
Omaha, NE-IA	$38.60	$80,280	$63,240	$95,210	1,640	3.30	0.76
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD	$37.95	$78,940	$49,690	$86,160	220	2.89	0.67
Grand Island, NE	$35.44	$73,710	$58,260	$88,280	190	4.83	1.12
Northeast Nebraska nonmetropolitan area	$31.74	$66,010	$46,880	$82,260	400	4.18	0.97
South Nebraska nonmetropolitan area	$31.09	$64,670	$49,610	$79,140	710	4.56	1.06
Northwest Nebraska nonmetropolitan area	$29.28	$60,900	$47,180	$81,270	230	5.95	1.38

Neighbouring states

State	Median hourly	Median annual	Employment	Location quotient
Nebraska	$35.88	$74,620	3,490	0.79
Colorado	$46.81	$97,350	9,610	0.78
Iowa	$35.81	$74,470	5,130	0.76
Kansas	$28.48	$59,230	6,130	0.99
Missouri	$28.59	$59,460	13,570	1.07
South Dakota	$29.20	$60,740	2,000	1.01
Wyoming	$31.80	$66,140	1,310	1.08

See the national page for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers (every state ranked) and the Nebraska wage profile (every occupation in the state).

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Nebraska estimates.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.