occupation · 33-3051 · detailed
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers — wages and employment
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers earned a median annual wage of $76,290 in the United States in May 2024, with 666,990 people employed, according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
What stands out
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers earned a median annual wage of $76,290 in the United States in May 2024, with 666,990 people employed, according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The lowest-paid tenth earned $47,640 or less, the best-paid tenth $115,280 or more. Since May 2023 the median moved from $72,280 to $76,290, +5.5 %. The best-paying state is California at $115,400; the lowest Puerto Rico at $44,860. Among metropolitan areas, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA pays the highest median, $150,650. Wages are as published by BLS for May of each year; '≥ $239,200' is BLS's top code. Every value links to its fact record.
United States, year by year
Annual wages at the median, mean and four percentiles; employment is the May estimate.
| Reference | Employment | Median | Mean | 10th | 25th | 75th | 90th | Median hourly | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | 666,990 | $76,290 | $79,320 | $47,640 | $58,980 | $97,190 | $115,280 | $36.68 | evidence → |
| May 2023 | 646,310 | $72,280 | $76,550 | $45,200 | $54,770 | $92,410 | $111,700 | $34.75 | evidence → |
By state
Median annual wage, May 2024, highest first. Each state has its own record with the full series.
| State | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| California | $115,400 | 65,170 |
| Washington | $102,640 | 8,370 |
| Illinois | $101,530 | 29,790 |
| Alaska | $100,300 | 1,160 |
| Colorado | $96,100 | 9,480 |
| New York | $93,050 | 54,360 |
| Hawaii | $89,390 | 2,390 |
| New Jersey | $89,030 | 21,620 |
| District of Columbia | $88,330 | 4,830 |
| Oregon | $88,140 | 4,950 |
| Pennsylvania | $86,350 | 24,280 |
| Minnesota | $83,310 | 8,920 |
| Delaware | $83,230 | 1,790 |
| Connecticut | $82,820 | 6,500 |
| Arizona | $79,370 | 12,430 |
| Wisconsin | $78,980 | 11,500 |
| Nevada | $78,670 | 5,490 |
| Massachusetts | $78,610 | 17,000 |
| Maryland | $77,440 | 9,420 |
| Rhode Island | $77,280 | 1,780 |
| Utah | $77,210 | 5,370 |
| Ohio | $77,050 | 24,050 |
| Texas | $76,350 | 62,230 |
| Florida | $76,190 | 48,340 |
| North Dakota | $75,530 | 1,850 |
| Michigan | $74,420 | 16,290 |
| Iowa | $73,900 | 5,110 |
| Nebraska | $72,160 | 3,620 |
| Indiana | $71,540 | 13,480 |
| Montana | $69,910 | 2,020 |
| New Hampshire | $67,620 | 2,550 |
| Idaho | $66,150 | 2,630 |
| Maine | $65,330 | 1,930 |
| Wyoming | $65,180 | 1,300 |
| Virginia | $65,110 | 19,400 |
| Vermont | $63,690 | 1,080 |
| New Mexico | $63,340 | 4,830 |
| Missouri | $60,720 | 12,750 |
| South Dakota | $60,300 | 1,890 |
| Kentucky | $60,230 | 7,090 |
| Tennessee | $59,410 | 13,780 |
| North Carolina | $58,030 | 21,650 |
| South Carolina | $58,020 | 12,820 |
| Oklahoma | $57,360 | 9,420 |
| Kansas | $56,610 | 6,160 |
| Georgia | $56,350 | 21,540 |
| West Virginia | $54,570 | 3,130 |
| Alabama | $53,850 | 12,060 |
| Louisiana | $50,580 | 14,340 |
| Arkansas | $48,090 | 5,490 |
| Mississippi | $45,610 | 7,590 |
| Puerto Rico | $44,860 | 11,620 |
Highest-paying metropolitan areas
Top 20 by median annual wage.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $150,650 | 2,520 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $133,190 | 7,860 |
| Napa, CA | $128,980 | 280 |
| Vallejo, CA | $128,470 | 660 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $123,140 | 450 |
| Salinas, CA | $122,290 | 780 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $121,370 | 720 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $121,050 | 1,320 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $119,580 | 720 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $115,630 | 24,310 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $114,200 | 4,070 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $112,630 | 5,590 |
| Anchorage, AK | $110,180 | 570 |
| Modesto, CA | $109,770 | 770 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $109,190 | 4,990 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $108,890 | 23,340 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $106,850 | 5,920 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $105,790 | 54,830 |
| Redding, CA | $104,980 | 420 |
| Kennewick-Richland, WA | $104,460 | 320 |
Machine access — free, no API key
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