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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

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. Includes police officers working at educational institutions.


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

National estimates for this occupation:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
665,280 0.5 % $32.50 $67,600 0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $17.77 $22.69 $30.36 $40.60 $50.59
Annual Wage (2) $36,960 $47,190 $63,150 $84,440 $105,230


Industry profile for this occupation:

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, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 565,300 10.20 $32.44 $67,480
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 61,130 2.81 $36.11 $75,110
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 15,160 0.49 $27.87 $57,980
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 12,490 0.62 $27.97 $58,180
Elementary and Secondary Schools 5,100 0.06 $26.96 $56,070

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, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 565,300 10.20 $32.44 $67,480
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 61,130 2.81 $36.11 $75,110
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 12,490 0.62 $27.97 $58,180
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 15,160 0.49 $27.87 $57,980
Junior Colleges 3,150 0.44 $26.84 $55,820

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 61,130 2.81 $36.11 $75,110
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 565,300 10.20 $32.44 $67,480
Support Activities for Air Transportation 140 0.06 $30.74 $63,940
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 1,720 0.03 $29.10 $60,520
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 12,490 0.62 $27.97 $58,180


Geographic profile for this occupation:

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 72,380 4.16 0.92 $50.58 $105,220
Texas 58,840 4.73 1.05 $30.65 $63,740
New York 55,590 5.84 1.29 $37.25 $77,490
Florida 39,090 4.44 0.98 $29.19 $60,720
Illinois 29,460 4.89 1.08 $37.67 $78,350




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 5,460 7.55 1.67 $36.87 $76,680
Mississippi 7,620 6.75 1.49 $17.45 $36,290
Louisiana 11,420 5.94 1.31 $20.42 $42,470
New York 55,590 5.84 1.29 $37.25 $77,490
Alabama 11,410 5.78 1.28 $22.36 $46,510




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 72,380 4.16 0.92 $50.58 $105,220
Alaska 1,120 3.52 0.78 $42.24 $87,870
New Jersey 21,840 5.34 1.18 $41.75 $86,840
Washington 9,540 2.87 0.63 $38.56 $80,200
Hawaii 2,500 3.93 0.87 $37.85 $78,720





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-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 57,870 5.99 1.32 $39.92 $83,040
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 29,950 4.80 1.06 $52.12 $108,420
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 24,190 5.17 1.14 $39.51 $82,170
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 16,150 5.08 1.12 $35.68 $74,220
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 15,250 5.00 1.10 $31.57 $65,670
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 14,570 5.06 1.12 $35.58 $74,010
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 14,540 3.98 0.88 $34.71 $72,200
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 13,050 4.94 1.09 $34.32 $71,400
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 12,010 4.38 0.97 $23.46 $48,800
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 11,700 4.18 0.92 $36.18 $75,250




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)
Ocean City, NJ 390 9.75 2.15 $34.87 $72,530
Hinesville, GA 170 9.34 2.06 $19.69 $40,960
New Bern, NC 390 8.91 1.97 $22.75 $47,330
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 1,550 8.86 1.96 $21.14 $43,960
Alexandria, LA 490 8.19 1.81 $18.60 $38,700
Pine Bluff, AR 250 8.14 1.80 $18.84 $39,200
Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ 260 8.10 1.79 $26.36 $54,820
Laredo, TX 820 7.87 1.74 $31.17 $64,830
Hattiesburg, MS 500 7.87 1.74 $17.13 $35,630
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 1,090 7.83 1.73 $24.45 $50,850




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 3,870 3.40 0.75 $61.10 $127,090
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 8,580 3.47 0.77 $57.33 $119,260
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 1,090 7.65 1.69 $55.57 $115,580
Santa Rosa, CA 700 3.37 0.74 $53.01 $110,270
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 29,950 4.80 1.06 $52.12 $108,420
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 330 3.34 0.74 $51.92 $107,980
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 1,380 4.36 0.96 $51.89 $107,930
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 640 3.36 0.74 $51.15 $106,380
Redding, CA 310 4.67 1.03 $49.99 $103,970
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA 530 4.52 1.00 $49.38 $102,710

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)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 1,900 4.83 1.07 $20.09 $41,780
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,860 7.48 1.65 $19.25 $40,040
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,780 6.83 1.51 $20.00 $41,600
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 1,730 5.18 1.14 $25.32 $52,660
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 1,620 5.87 1.30 $22.64 $47,100

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)
Northeast South Carolina nonmetropolitan area 960 10.09 2.23 $17.65 $36,710
Northwest Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 920 9.81 2.17 $15.42 $32,080
Northeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 920 9.80 2.16 $19.99 $41,580
Northeast Virginia nonmetropolitan area 470 9.44 2.08 $23.30 $48,470
Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 660 9.24 2.04 $17.25 $35,880

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)
Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 330 5.52 1.22 $45.89 $95,460
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 740 7.33 1.62 $43.11 $89,660
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 460 4.20 0.93 $39.64 $82,450
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area 570 5.34 1.18 $38.37 $79,810
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 490 4.82 1.06 $37.30 $77,590


About May 2019 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 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: July 6, 2020