Working as Corrections Officer in TN (Johnson City, Kingsport: sales, health insurance, crime rate)

[sml89]

Hello! My husband is a corrections officer in NJ but we would like to move our family to TN. We don't know anybody in this career down there so we wanted to get some opinions and whether it's a good way to make a living there. In NJ, he makes $60,000 but so much of it gets taken out in taxes it ends up being closer to $40,000. I stay home with our 2 kids so we would have to be able to depend on only his income for now. We'd like to be in Tri-Cities area, housing looked affordable and the schools seemed to rate well. He couldn't find anything on the TN DOC website that gave much information about salary. If anyone could help us we'd appreciate it!

[Serious Conversation]

A corrections officer is a $12-$15/hr position in the counties around here. I have a cousin who has bounced between a CO and deputy. He was promoted to deputy, left the department, washed out of the highway patrol, then rejoined the county as a CO. He's back in the low wage pool. A city department is likely to pay more, but (I think) Kingsport has its own jail, while Johnson City is using the Washington County facility.

One of the local newspapers ran an article last week regarding CO pay in Hawkins County, a rural, high crime county. Turnover is constant due to the low pay. The pay increase request was rejected by the county commission. Government employees, including police, are not paid or benefitted to the level someone from NJ would expect.

https://www.timesnews.net/Law-Enforc...ntent&lp=8&p=1

Kingsport and Johnson City city schools are very good, as well as Greeneville City. Washington County schools and Bristol TN/VA schools are OK. Aside from that, county schools in the area are pretty bad overall. Rural areas tend to have a lot of drug and domestic crime, and while the area does not have a very high violent crime rate overall, the sheer amount of drug and property crime is extremely high. If you are coming from an area of suburban NJ, crime is going to seem high, pay will be low, and most of the area will seem poor.

I make $60,200 right now, though I'm not in law enforcement. I get a small bonus as well that I'm not counting. With all taxes (federal income/FICA/Medicare), my insurance and other benefits, and a 12% 401k contribution, I net $3,028 monthly. I'm single with no kids, but it would be a stretch to support two people on my income, much less kids. I guess this depends on your lifestyle. TN has no tax on earned income, but sales tax is close to 10%, though other taxes and fees are very low. Sales tax in neighboring Bristol, VA is around 5%, and they have a Target, Sam's, Lowe's, and Walmart. For large purchases, it makes sense to shop in VA.

Keep in mind that while housing and taxes are low, virtually everything else is around the national average, often on much less income. I'm a local native, but lived in two major Midwestern cities (not Chicago) over the past five years. Aside from housing and taxes, everything else here is about the same to even slightly more expensive than it was in my previous locations. Gas is a bit cheaper.

The area has tremendous outdoor activities, and that's its biggest asset. Otherwise, there are plenty of other areas in TN/NC/SC that offer a higher quality of life, higher wages, and more to do for families, IMO.

[jchometeam]

In my full time job as a professor of Criminal Justice at the local university, I deal with many people in the corrections field, both as students and alumni who return to discuss their positions either to classes or to me privately.

The highest pay for corrections officers would be the closest federal prison. However, those jobs have been frozen since Trump took office. When they eventually open, demand will be high for those positions.

I believe that the pay for a state corrections officer is around $30,000, with state benefits which are good. There is also plenty of opportunity for overtime. For the rural location of the closest state prison (Mountain City), these are decent wages. Unfortunately, I would not recommend working in the Mountain City prison. There is some significant drama apparently taking place there that I wouldn't voluntarily get involved with. Overall, I don't believe that TDOC is a bad place to work in other locations. My understanding is that it is very easy to get a job as a state correctional officer when openings are available.

Locally, most counties operate jails, as do some cities. Most people do not realize that Johnson City has a women's jail separate from the county detention center. Nearly all of these local correctional officer jobs are low pay, low benefits, high turnover, etc.

[sml89]

Thank you both for the information. He would be looking to work for TDOC, he currently works for the state here in NJ. That's $30,000 before taxes/insurance/etc though right? He nets $3000 monthly here, where our property taxes are outrageous ($6500 for our 1300sqft house), and utility bills are quite high. We live a pretty simple life, but the monthly income from $30000 may be too low to survive on one income for now.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by sml89

Thank you both for the information. He would be looking to work for TDOC, he currently works for the state here in NJ. That's $30,000 before taxes/insurance/etc though right? He nets $3000 monthly here, where our property taxes are outrageous ($6500 for our 1300sqft house), and utility bills are quite high. We live a pretty simple life, but the monthly income from $30000 may be too low to survive on one income for now.

Yes, it is $30,000 before taxes or anything is taken out.

You can find homes in Kingsport zoned to good schools for under $100,000. However, they're likely going to be small and probably need updating.

I would not move here for a $30,000/year job. It's too big of a pay cut from what you currently make. Yes, the cost of living is lower, but not that much so.

[sml89]

Okay, thanks. This definitely influences our decision to move to TN. By any chance, do you know if there's a yearly increase in salary? I can't seem to find anything about a salary schedule on their website. In NJ, the officers go up yearly and max out at $90,000. This is only when they're in contract though. They've been out of contract for 3 years so that means no raises, cost of living, or clothing allowances for uniforms. My husband is going to e-mail to get specifics before we make a decision but it's always nice to hear from people who live in the area also.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by sml89

Okay, thanks. This definitely influences our decision to move to TN. By any chance, do you know if there's a yearly increase in salary? I can't seem to find anything about a salary schedule on their website. In NJ, the officers go up yearly and max out at $90,000. This is only when they're in contract though. They've been out of contract for 3 years so that means no raises, cost of living, or clothing allowances for uniforms. My husband is going to e-mail to get specifics before we make a decision but it's always nice to hear from people who live in the area also.

Government jobs typically have annual step increases, unless there has been an explicit pay freeze. I know some local governments have had pay freezes in recent years, but I have no idea if that's still going on, for what positions, or for what entities.

I have no doubt the cap for COs is well, well below $90k. The cap may be below $45k.

[sml89]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

Government jobs typically have annual step increases, unless there has been an explicit pay freeze. I know some local governments have had pay freezes in recent years, but I have no idea if that's still going on, for what positions, or for what entities.

I have no doubt the cap for COs is well, well below $90k. The cap may be below $45k.

Okay, thanks for the information. We didn't expect the cap to be anywhere near $90,000, but just wanted to get an idea of what it was. The salary for CO's in Jersey is one of the highest of any state but the cost of living is so high it doesn't make much difference.

[jchometeam]

Out of nearly 2,100 state correctional officers in TN, the absolute highest paid non-supervisory one appears to be making about $45,000. Lieutenants and Captains seem to range between $45,000 and $55,000. Associate Wardens make about $65,000 and wardens make around or a little above $100,000.

I am using the public salary database to get those numbers. These are base salaries, not including overtime.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by sml89

Okay, thanks for the information. We didn't expect the cap to be anywhere near $90,000, but just wanted to get an idea of what it was. The salary for CO's in Jersey is one of the highest of any state but the cost of living is so high it doesn't make much difference.

The cost of living is going to be less here, but not enough to offset a cut of half your pay. The benefits will also likely be worse.

Your big savings here are going to be property taxes/mortgage, income taxes, and maybe some on gas and utilities. Otherwise, most everything is about the same as it is anywhere else. A new pair of shoes won't be much different. A car won't be much different - that type of thing. The cost of living is fairly low here, but a lot of people get the idea that it's unrealistically cheap. It isn't.

Like I mentioned before, some of my daily costs here (groceries, I drive more and use more gas (even though it's cheaper per gal here), auto insurance) are actually higher than when I lived in Indianapolis. I save about $200/month on state income taxes and my health insurance is cheaper. The overall cost of living is about a wash with where I was. I'm sure your costs in NJ are higher than mine were in IN, but you're not going to find the savings you think outside of taxes and property prices.

I didn't notice before that you had kids. There is simply no way I'd move here for a ~$30,000 year job for a family of four. That's near the poverty line. It will be difficult to survive on that without some form of assistance. If you're seriously considering moving to TN, you'll need to find employment as well.