South Carolina / Department of Mental Health / Law Enforcement Officer V
Job-title file
Enforce laws and maintain public safety — patrol, respond to incidents, investigate crimes, and make arrests.
1 employees hold this title in Department of Mental Health. Median total compensation for the role is $113,609, above the department median of $65,856.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in South Carolina, the median wage for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers — about 12,930 people — is $58,070. Department of Mental Health pays a median base salary of $65,905 for this role, 13% above that figure — about the 69th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers across every employer in South Carolina, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Mental Health’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers — about 670,520 people — is $76,210. Department of Mental Health’s median base salary is 14% below that national figure, about the 35th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the South Carolina range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Department of Mental Health is $65,905, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
Law Enforcement Officer V is held in 16 South Carolina departments. In Department of Mental Health, the median of $113,609 ranks #5 of 16.
Median total compensation for the Law Enforcement Officer V role in other South Carolinadepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
This role is reported in 3 jurisdictions. In South Carolina, the median of $74,011 ranks #1 of 3. See Law Enforcement Officer across all of South Carolina →
Median total compensation for comparable Law Enforcement Officerroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.
Record list
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Law Enforcement Officer V/Department of Mental Health
Wayne Prophett is a Law Enforcement Officer V at Department of Mental Health. 2026 total compensation came to $113,609.