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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2016

33-3051 Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

Maintain order and protect life and property by enforcing local, tribal, State, or Federal laws and ordinances. Perform a combination of the following duties: patrol a specific area; direct traffic; issue traffic summonses; investigate accidents; apprehend and arrest suspects, or serve legal processes of courts.


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
657,690 0.6 % $30.17 $62,760 0.9 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $16.46 $21.15 $28.69 $37.57 $47.36
Annual Wage (2) $34,230 $44,000 $59,680 $78,140 $98,510


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government (OES Designation) 560,590 10.42 $30.13 $62,680
State Government (OES Designation) 60,380 2.76 $33.27 $69,190
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 14,440 0.48 $25.44 $52,920
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 12,060 0.60 $26.43 $54,980
Elementary and Secondary Schools 4,500 0.05 $24.65 $51,260

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government (OES Designation) 560,590 10.42 $30.13 $62,680
State Government (OES Designation) 60,380 2.76 $33.27 $69,190
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 12,060 0.60 $26.43 $54,980
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 14,440 0.48 $25.44 $52,920
Junior Colleges 3,620 0.48 $24.77 $51,520

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
State Government (OES Designation) 60,380 2.76 $33.27 $69,190
Local Government (OES Designation) 560,590 10.42 $30.13 $62,680
Postal Service 470 0.07 $27.19 $56,560
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 12,060 0.60 $26.43 $54,980
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 1,210 0.02 $25.73 $53,510


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 70,790 4.43 0.95 $46.47 $96,660
Texas 62,580 5.33 1.14 $29.02 $60,350
New York 47,870 5.26 1.12 $34.13 $70,990
Florida 39,020 4.75 1.01 $27.48 $57,160
Illinois 32,780 5.55 1.19 $34.06 $70,850




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 5,250 7.47 1.59 $35.22 $73,250
Mississippi 7,450 6.67 1.42 $16.61 $34,550
South Carolina 11,600 5.86 1.25 $20.28 $42,180
Georgia 24,360 5.78 1.23 $19.60 $40,770
Illinois 32,780 5.55 1.19 $34.06 $70,850




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 70,790 4.43 0.95 $46.47 $96,660
New Jersey 21,390 5.41 1.15 $42.06 $87,490
Alaska 1,110 3.43 0.73 $38.23 $79,510
Washington 9,210 3.00 0.64 $36.70 $76,340
District of Columbia 5,250 7.47 1.59 $35.22 $73,250





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 39,680 6.02 1.29 $35.66 $74,170
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 25,460 6.03 1.29 $48.05 $99,940
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 21,580 5.93 1.27 $37.31 $77,590
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 16,110 5.49 1.17 $30.28 $62,980
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 14,000 5.62 1.20 $33.38 $69,440
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 12,840 5.03 1.07 $21.47 $44,670
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 10,390 4.28 0.91 $31.38 $65,280
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division 8,380 4.65 0.99 $34.39 $71,540
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 7,530 3.89 0.83 $31.76 $66,070
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 6,850 5.10 1.09 $30.72 $63,900




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Rome, GA 410 11.19 2.39 $17.18 $35,730
Hinesville, GA 180 10.89 2.33 $20.16 $41,940
Danville, IL 250 9.53 2.03 $23.78 $49,460
Ocean City, NJ 340 8.86 1.89 $33.86 $70,420
Laredo, TX 860 8.83 1.89 $30.27 $62,960
Wheeling, WV-OH 550 8.76 1.87 $21.71 $45,160
Albany, GA 490 8.48 1.81 $16.92 $35,200
San Angelo, TX 390 8.26 1.76 $25.48 $52,990
Jacksonville, NC 370 8.25 1.76 $20.76 $43,170
Morristown, TN 350 8.24 1.76 $15.75 $32,760




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 3,950 3.78 0.81 $56.65 $117,840
Napa, CA 160 2.27 0.49 $54.56 $113,480
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division 4,460 4.18 0.89 $52.91 $110,050
Santa Rosa, CA 590 3.06 0.65 $51.03 $106,130
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 1,320 4.41 0.94 $50.55 $105,130
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 440 4.72 1.01 $49.72 $103,410
Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division 4,690 4.32 0.92 $48.97 $101,860
Nassau County-Suffolk County, NY Metropolitan Division 4,970 3.86 0.82 $48.30 $100,470
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 3,910 2.50 0.53 $48.29 $100,440
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 25,460 6.03 1.29 $48.05 $99,940

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 1,890 5.72 1.22 $22.39 $46,580
North Texas nonmetropolitan area 1,650 6.18 1.32 $21.04 $43,770
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,610 6.50 1.39 $18.61 $38,720
South Georgia nonmetropolitan area 1,590 8.55 1.83 $15.67 $32,600
West Texas nonmetropolitan area 1,570 8.07 1.72 $22.41 $46,600

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Pee Dee South Carolina nonmetropolitan area 430 9.51 2.03 $16.48 $34,280
Northeast Florida nonmetropolitan area 820 9.26 1.98 $18.59 $38,660
Eastern Sierra Region of California nonmetropolitan area 120 8.99 1.92 $38.72 $80,540
South Florida nonmetropolitan area 680 8.91 1.90 $23.44 $48,760
Border Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 510 8.86 1.89 $22.19 $46,160

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area 550 5.66 1.21 $41.85 $87,050
Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 470 7.51 1.60 $41.31 $85,930
Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 300 7.58 1.62 $39.71 $82,590
Balance of Alaska nonmetropolitan area 290 3.90 0.83 $39.47 $82,090
Eastern Sierra Region of California nonmetropolitan area 120 8.99 1.92 $38.72 $80,540


About May 2016 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2016 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2017