Law Enforcement Officer

Enforce laws and maintain public safety — patrol, respond to incidents, investigate crimes, and make arrests.

2,195 people hold the Law Enforcement Officer role across 36 departments in South Carolina, with a median total compensation of $74,011. Among 3 jurisdictions where this role is reported, South Carolina ranks #1 by median pay.

Employees: 2,195
Median pay: $74,011
Departments: 36
Cross-jurisdiction: #1 of 3

Compared with the local labor market

Law Enforcement Officer pay vs. South Carolina

Across all employers in South Carolina, the median wage for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers — about 12,930 people — is $58,070. South Carolina pays a median base salary of $74,011 for this role, 27% above that figure — about the 83rd percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where South Carolina sits in the local pay range

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$45,060

$48,570

$58,070

$68,190

$78,760

South Carolina median · $74,011

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 South Carolina’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. South Carolina’s median base salary is 3% below that national figure, about the 47th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$47,510

$59,290

$76,210

$97,600

$115,120

South Carolina median · $74,011

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.

Computed over the 2,193 of 2,195 people in this role paid at least $25,000in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.

Median total compensation for this role at South Carolina is $74,011, 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 jurisdictions

Law Enforcement Officer pay in other jurisdictions

Where Law Enforcement Officers are paid most

Florida

$62,187 · 495

Missouri

$4,215 · 22

Median total compensation for comparable Law Enforcement Officerroles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.

Within South Carolina