What Compliance Officers earn in Oakland County, MI
The median pay for Compliance Officers in Oakland County, MI is $81,250 per year, which works out to $39.06 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area, the labor market that Oakland County, MI belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $86,130, which is 6.0% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 5,180 people working in this occupation across the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Oakland County, MI has roughly 1,279,825 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Compliance Officers in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $49,090 a year ($23.60 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $122,830 or more ($59.05 an hour). That is a gap of $73,740 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $62,470 at the 25th percentile and $107,900 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.5 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $39.06 an hour or $81,250 a year at the median for Oakland County, MI. Before any deductions, that is $6,771 a month, $3,125 every two weeks and $1,563 each week. After taxes the same job pays $30.05 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Compliance Officers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Compliance Officers this way: "Examine, evaluate, and investigate eligibility for or conformity with laws and regulations governing contract compliance of licenses and permits, and perform other compliance and enforcement inspection and analysis activities not classified elsewhere."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Warn violators of infractions or penalties"; "Evaluate applications, records, or documents to gather information about eligibility or liability issues"; "Advise licensees or other individuals or groups concerning licensing, permit, or passport regulations"; "Prepare reports of activities, evaluations, recommendations, or decisions".
Job outlook for Compliance Officers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 436,400 jobs in 2025 to 453,100 in 2035, a change of +3.8%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 32,700 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 7.5% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: moderate-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $80,730 for this occupation; the Oakland County, MI median of $81,250 is 0.6% above it.
How pay in Oakland County, MI compares
Compared with the Michigan average
A worker in this occupation in Oakland County, MI earns $4,423 more than the Michigan average of $76,827, a premium of 5.8%. Over a year that premium is worth $4,423 before tax and roughly $3,403 after tax. Within Michigan, Oakland County, MI already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Compliance Officers is $82,307 across the contiguous United States. At $81,250, Oakland County, MI pays $1,057 less, which is 1.3% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Oakland County, MI
Among the 590 occupations with published wages in Oakland County, MI, Compliance Officers ranks number 162 by median pay, ahead of about 73% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $170,040 a year, which is $88,790 more than the median for Compliance Officers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Compliance Officers earning the Oakland County, MI median of $81,250, they add up to $18,746. The result is $62,504 of take-home pay a year ($5,209 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $23 goes to taxes and $77 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 23.1%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $65,500. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $9,324, an effective 11.5% of gross pay, well below the 22% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $5,038 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,178. FICA totals $6,216, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Michigan
Michigan income tax on this salary is $3,207 a year, or 3.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 34% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $267 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Oakland County, MI
IRS Statistics of Income data for Oakland County, MI show an average adjusted gross income of $121,861 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 16.6% across all filers. Filers in the $75,000 to under $100,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 9.8%, compared with the 11.5% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Oakland County, MI
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Oakland County, MI: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $62,504 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Oakland County, MI, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,167 a month ($14,004 a year), and at $1,459 for two bedrooms. For Compliance Officers, a one-bedroom absorbs 22.4% of take-home pay and 17.2% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 4.2% of gross pay for Compliance Officers in Oakland County, MI. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Michigan residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $2,039 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $416, for $2,455 in total. Gasoline in Michigan averages $3.10 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,436.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $21,331 a year in Oakland County, MI. Subtract that from $62,504 of take-home pay and $41,173 remains, which is $3,431 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 50.7% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Oakland County, MI
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Oakland County, MI: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Oakland County, MI, set beside the Michigan and national medians.
Property taxes in Oakland County, MI
Homeowners in Oakland County, MI pay a median of $4,371 a year in real estate taxes, 51% above the Michigan median of $2,904 and 40% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $343,600, the median tax bill is 1.27% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Compliance Officers median of $81,250, a tax bill of that size would equal 5.4% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Oakland County, MI
Renters in Oakland County, MI pay a median gross rent of $1,376 a month in the Census survey, 22% above the Michigan median of $1,129. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,167 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $343,600, 48% above the Michigan median of $231,600. Median household income is $97,760, 34% above the Michigan median of $72,875, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 14.3% of that income.
Commuting in Oakland County, MI
Workers in Oakland County, MI who travel to a workplace spend an average of 25.8 minutes each way, 7% above the Michigan average of 24.2. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.3 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 20.2% of workers in Oakland County, MI work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Compliance Officers afford to live in Oakland County, MI?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $81,250 that ceiling is $2,031 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,167 is $864 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $22.44 an hour; the median for Compliance Officers is $39.06, which is 74% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $30.05 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 9.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,459 a month means $730 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,250 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $46,423.
How fast you can save
At $3,431 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 3 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 6 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Compliance Officers pay in Oakland County, MI
How much do Compliance Officers make per hour in Oakland County, MI?
The median is $39.06 per hour, based on $81,250 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $23.60 at the 10th percentile to $59.05 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Compliance Officers take home after taxes in Oakland County, MI?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $81,250 becomes $62,504 a year. That is $5,209 a month, $2,404 every two weeks or $1,202 a week.
How much tax do Compliance Officers pay in Oakland County, MI?
Total taxes are $18,746 a year, an effective rate of 23.1%: $9,324 federal income tax, $6,216 FICA and $3,207 Michigan income tax.
Do Compliance Officers earn more in Oakland County, MI than elsewhere in Michigan?
Yes. The local median of $81,250 is +5.8% versus the Michigan average of $76,827, a difference of $4,423 a year.
Can Compliance Officers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland County, MI?
A one-bedroom costs $1,167 a month against take-home pay of $5,209, which is 22.4% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $2,031 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Compliance Officers in Oakland County, MI?
About $3,431 a month ($41,173 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $21,331 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Oakland County, MI at the 30% guideline?
$22.44 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $14,004 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Compliance Officers is $39.06.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Michigan rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.