Police Officer · Dallas–Fort Worth, TX

34.4 hours of work

cover a month's rent on a one-bedroom in Dallas–Fort Worth for a police officer earning the median $44.67 an hour.

Comfortable Rank 4 of 20 for Police Officers (by rent share of take-home) · Metro median pay is 22% above this job's U.S. median

Median pay
$92,910
per year · $44.67/hr · 16,430 Police Officers
1-bedroom rent
$1,536
per month · HUD Fair Market Rent FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Take-home
$6,183
per month after federal tax + FICA
Left after rent
$4,647
per month · yours · 25% of take-home

Hours of work = monthly rent ÷ BLS median hourly wage ($1,536 ÷ $44.67). After federal taxes the same rent takes 43.1 h of take-home pay.

EARNINGS STATEMENT FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Police Officer
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Rate (median, hourly)$44.67
Hours in a month173.3
Gross pay$7,743
Federal income tax−$968
Social Security + Medicare−$592
Take-home$6,183
Rent · 1BR · HUD FMR−$1,536

Rent costs

34.4 hours

of work to cover one month

STUB-01

Wages May 2025 estimates · Rent FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)

01 · Paycheck prints

A month at the median wage, line by line.

Rate $44.67 × 173.3 hours (2,080 ÷ 12) prints gross pay of $7,743.

EARNINGS STATEMENT FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Police Officer
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Rate (median, hourly)$44.67
Hours in a month173.3
Gross pay$7,743
Federal income tax−$968
Social Security + Medicare−$592
Take-home$6,183
Rent · 1BR · HUD FMR−$1,536

Rent costs

34.4 hours

of work to cover one month

STUB-01

Wages May 2025 estimates · Rent FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)

02 · Taxes peel off

Federal income tax and FICA come off the stub.

2026 single filer, standard deduction. State income tax is not levied in this state.

Federal income tax 2026, single−$968
Social Security + Medicare−$592

Taxes · $1,560 · peeled

03 · Rent tears away

A strip as tall as the rent.

34.4 h

of work at $44.67/hr pays $1,536, one month of a one-bedroom in Dallas–Fort Worth. The strip is drawn to scale: $1,536 of a $7,743 gross month (20% of stub).

Background tint · rent burden 24.8% of take-home

Rent · 1BR FMR−$1,536

Hours of work

34.4

HUD Fair Market Rent FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026) · Dallas–Fort Worth metro

04 · What's left is yours

After tax and the 1-bedroom, this remains.

Comfortable

What's left · yours

$4,647

Take-home before rent$6,183
2BR instead (−$1,807)$4,376
vs HUD 30%-of-gross rule1.51×

05 · Floor plan

The stub becomes a one-bedroom.

Rent hatches rooms in ledger red, to scale against take-home. Toggle a 2-bedroom — both figures are precomputed HUD FMRs.

1-bedroom floor plan with rent hatched LIVING BED BATH KITCHEN

Hatched share is 25% of take-home (1BR).

06 · Street grid

How Dallas–Fort Worth compares for Police Officers

Hours of work to cover a one-bedroom's rent, all metros, fewest hours first.

Comfortable (rent ≤ 30% of take-home)Stretched (30–40%)Strained (> 40%)

Sorted by hours of work (1-bedroom HUD FMR ÷ median hourly wage), fewest first. Rank on the page still uses rent share of take-home.

# Metro Hours Rent Wage / hr 0 – 52 h (HUD 30% of gross)
01 Minneapolis–St. Paul 30.5 h $1,427 $46.73
02 Detroit 30.9 h $1,167 $37.72
03 Chicago 34.3 h $1,780 $51.83
04 Dallas–Fort Worth 34.4 h $1,536 $44.67
05 Riverside–San Bernardino 34.8 h $1,705 $48.98
06 Houston 35.2 h $1,261 $35.85
07 San Francisco 36.1 h $2,290 $63.46
08 Philadelphia 36.2 h $1,558 $43.07
09 Phoenix 36.5 h $1,493 $40.89
10 Denver 37.4 h $1,831 $49.02
11 Seattle 39.4 h $2,180 $55.35
12 Los Angeles 41.0 h $2,402 $58.64
13 San Diego 44.0 h $2,335 $53.08
14 Baltimore 44.2 h $1,625 $36.80
15 Tampa 45.3 h $1,648 $36.40
16 New York 53.8 h $2,729 $50.74
17 Washington, DC 54.6 h $2,204 $40.39
18 Miami 55.3 h $2,121 $38.38
19 Atlanta 55.3 h $1,619 $29.29
20 Boston 67.0 h $2,518 $37.59

The ledger

One month at the median wage, line by line, in dollars and in hours of work.

LinePer monthHours of workBasis
Gross pay$7,743173.3$92,910 ÷ 12
Federal income tax−$96821.7$11,610/yr ÷ 12
Social Security + Medicare−$59213.3$7,108/yr ÷ 12
Take-home$6,183138.4TX has no wage tax
Rent · 1BR FMR−$1,53634.4HUD FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026)
Yours$4,647104.0take-home − rent

Hours = dollars ÷ $44.67; 173.3 = 2,080 hrs ÷ 12. May not sum exactly due to rounding.

Hours of work for rent, by pay level

Same $1,536 one-bedroom, different police officer paychecks.

10th · $30.14 51.0 h
25th · $36.66 41.9 h
Median · $44.67 34.4 h
75th · $46.93 32.7 h
90th · $50.05 30.7 h

Bar scale includes the HUD 30%-of-gross line at 52.0 h (52 h rounded). Same 1-bedroom, different paychecks (BLS wage percentiles ÷ 2,080 hrs).

Take-home vs rent

Monthly take-home pay: $6,183 1-bedroom Rent $1,536 Left $4,647 2-bedroom Rent $1,807 Left $4,376

Where Police Officers keep more after rent

This ranking uses rent share of take-home (rank 4 of 20), not hours.

≤30% of take-home30–40%>40%30% line

Sources & method

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 — metropolitan areas — vintage: May 2025 estimates. File: oesm25ma.zip, retrieved 2026-10-06.
  2. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD USER), Fair Market Rents, FY2027 — vintage: FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026). File: FY27_FMRs.xlsx, retrieved 2026-10-05.
  3. Internal Revenue Service, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (tax year 2026 brackets, $16,100 standard deduction) and SSA's $184,500 wage base, used for the take-home estimate.
  4. HUD FMR area: Dallas, TX HUD Metro FMR Area (METRO19100M19100).
  5. Occupation: SOC 33-3051 Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers.

Take-home = annual wage − 2026 federal income tax (single filer, standard deduction) − Social Security and Medicare. State and local income taxes are not deducted. Wages are May 2025 estimates; rents are HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (effective Oct 1, 2026). Full details on the methodology page. Page data last rebuilt 2026-10-06.

Download this row as CSV