What Correctional Officers and Jailers earn in Madison County, TX
The median pay for Correctional Officers and Jailers in Madison County, TX is $52,670 per year, which works out to $25.32 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Hill Country Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area, the labor market that Madison County, TX 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 $52,800, which is 0.2% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 4,640 people working in this occupation across the Hill Country Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Madison County, TX has roughly 13,648 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Correctional Officers and Jailers in the Hill Country Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $47,660 a year ($22.91 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $57,330 or more ($27.56 an hour). That is a gap of $9,670 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $50,040 at the 25th percentile and $57,330 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.2 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: $25.32 an hour or $52,670 a year at the median for Madison County, TX. Before any deductions, that is $4,389 a month, $2,026 every two weeks and $1,013 each week. After taxes the same job pays $21.37 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Correctional Officers and Jailers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Correctional Officers and Jailers this way: "Guard inmates in penal or rehabilitative institutions in accordance with established regulations and procedures. May guard prisoners in transit between jail, courtroom, prison, or other point. Includes deputy sheriffs and police who spend the majority of their time guarding prisoners in correctional institutions."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Guard facility entrances to screen visitors"; "Inspect mail for the presence of contraband"; "Take prisoners into custody and escort to locations within and outside of facility, such as visiting room, courtroom, or airport"; "Use weapons, handcuffs, and physical force to maintain discipline and order among prisoners".
Job outlook for Correctional Officers and Jailers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to shrink from 397,800 jobs in 2025 to 368,200 in 2035, a change of -7.4%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 28,400 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 7.1% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: moderate-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $58,940 for this occupation; the Madison County, TX median of $52,670 is 10.6% below it.
How pay in Madison County, TX compares
Compared with the Texas average
Pay for Correctional Officers and Jailers in Madison County, TX is in line with the statewide figure: $52,670 locally against an employment-weighted Texas average of $52,887, a difference of only $217 (0.4%). Within Texas, the highest median we track for this job is $58,930 in Dallas County, TX.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Correctional Officers and Jailers is $62,674 across the contiguous United States. At $52,670, Madison County, TX pays $10,004 less, which is 16.0% 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 Madison County, TX
Among the 385 occupations with published wages in Madison County, TX, Correctional Officers and Jailers ranks number 175 by median pay, ahead of about 55% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is General and Operations Managers at $88,290 a year, which is $35,620 more than the median for Correctional Officers and Jailers.
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 Correctional Officers and Jailers earning the Madison County, TX median of $52,670, they add up to $8,221. The result is $44,449 of take-home pay a year ($3,704 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $16 goes to taxes and $84 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 15.6%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $36,920. 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 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $4,192, an effective 8.0% of gross pay, well below the 12% 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 $3,266 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $764. FICA totals $4,029, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Texas
Texas does not tax wage income, so the state income tax line for Correctional Officers and Jailers in Madison County, TX is $0. That alone leaves more in the paycheck than the same salary would in a state with an income tax. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $2,634 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $219 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Madison County, TX
IRS Statistics of Income data for Madison County, TX show an average adjusted gross income of $60,986 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 10.7% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 6.2%, compared with the 8.0% 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 Madison County, TX
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Madison County, TX: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $44,449 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Madison County, TX, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $775 a month ($9,300 a year), and at $1,014 for two bedrooms. For Correctional Officers and Jailers, a one-bedroom absorbs 20.9% of take-home pay and 17.7% 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 6.5% of gross pay for Correctional Officers and Jailers in Madison County, TX. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Texas residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,578 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $719, for $2,297 in total. Gasoline in Texas averages $2.88 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,334.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $16,367 a year in Madison County, TX. Subtract that from $44,449 of take-home pay and $28,082 remains, which is $2,340 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 53.3% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Madison County, TX
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Madison County, TX: 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 Madison County, TX, set beside the Texas and national medians.
Property taxes in Madison County, TX
Homeowners in Madison County, TX pay a median of $1,726 a year in real estate taxes, 59% below the Texas median of $4,232 and 45% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $176,200, the median tax bill is 0.98% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Correctional Officers and Jailers median of $52,670, a tax bill of that size would equal 3.3% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Madison County, TX
Renters in Madison County, TX pay a median gross rent of $851 a month in the Census survey, 39% below the Texas median of $1,403. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $775 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 $176,200, 38% below the Texas median of $283,800. Median household income is $74,596, 5% below the Texas median of $78,476, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 12.5% of that income.
Commuting in Madison County, TX
Workers in Madison County, TX who travel to a workplace spend an average of 28.9 minutes each way, 8% above the Texas average of 26.7. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.8 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 11.3% of workers in Madison County, TX work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Correctional Officers and Jailers afford to live in Madison County, TX?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $52,670 that ceiling is $1,317 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $775 is $542 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $14.90 an hour; the median for Correctional Officers and Jailers is $25.32, which is 70% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $21.37 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 8.4 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,014 a month means $507 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $3,216 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $31,298.
How fast you can save
At $2,340 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 5 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 10 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Correctional Officers and Jailers pay in Madison County, TX
How much do Correctional Officers and Jailers make per hour in Madison County, TX?
The median is $25.32 per hour, based on $52,670 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $22.91 at the 10th percentile to $27.56 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Correctional Officers and Jailers take home after taxes in Madison County, TX?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $52,670 becomes $44,449 a year. That is $3,704 a month, $1,710 every two weeks or $855 a week.
How much tax do Correctional Officers and Jailers pay in Madison County, TX?
Total taxes are $8,221 a year, an effective rate of 15.6%: $4,192 federal income tax, $4,029 FICA and no Texas income tax.
Do Correctional Officers and Jailers earn more in Madison County, TX than elsewhere in Texas?
It is about the same. The local median of $52,670 is within 0.4% of the Texas average of $52,887.
Can Correctional Officers and Jailers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Madison County, TX?
A one-bedroom costs $775 a month against take-home pay of $3,704, which is 20.9% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,317 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Correctional Officers and Jailers in Madison County, TX?
About $2,340 a month ($28,082 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $16,367 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Madison County, TX at the 30% guideline?
$14.90 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $9,300 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Correctional Officers and Jailers is $25.32.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Hill Country Region of Texas nonmetropolitan 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 Texas 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.