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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

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 Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
Industry profile for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
Geographic profile for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

National estimates for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
665,380 0.4 % $ 34.02 $ 70,750 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 19.32 $ 24.34 $ 31.06 $ 39.35 $ 49.29
Annual Wage (2) $ 40,190 $ 50,630 $ 64,610 $ 81,850 $ 102,530


Industry profile for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 564,980 10.51 $ 33.98 $ 70,690
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 59,640 2.72 $ 37.67 $ 78,350
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 15,050 0.50 $ 28.90 $ 60,120
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) 12,770 0.61 $ 30.51 $ 63,450
Elementary and Secondary Schools 6,880 0.08 $ 28.73 $ 59,750

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 564,980 10.51 $ 33.98 $ 70,690
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 59,640 2.72 $ 37.67 $ 78,350
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) 12,770 0.61 $ 30.51 $ 63,450
Junior Colleges 3,490 0.56 $ 26.35 $ 54,810
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 15,050 0.50 $ 28.90 $ 60,120

Top paying industries for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 59,640 2.72 $ 37.67 $ 78,350
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 564,980 10.51 $ 33.98 $ 70,690
Postal Service (federal government) 400 0.06 $ 31.08 $ 64,640
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) 12,770 0.61 $ 30.51 $ 63,450
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 1,430 0.03 $ 29.35 $ 61,040


Geographic profile for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers, see the Create Customized Tables function.



Map of employment of police and sheriff's patrol officers by state, May 2021


States with the highest employment level in Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 70,050 4.24 0.90 $ 49.48 $ 102,920
Texas 60,440 4.94 1.05 $ 32.16 $ 66,890
New York 49,910 5.76 1.22 $ 38.75 $ 80,590
Florida 45,360 5.27 1.12 $ 31.88 $ 66,320
Illinois 30,640 5.45 1.15 $ 39.81 $ 82,800


Map of location quotient of police and sheriff's patrol officers by state, May 2021


States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 5,450 8.23 1.74 $ 39.45 $ 82,060
Louisiana 12,450 6.94 1.47 $ 21.53 $ 44,790
Mississippi 7,410 6.73 1.42 $ 18.72 $ 38,940
Alabama 12,430 6.45 1.36 $ 23.82 $ 49,540
New Mexico 4,870 6.27 1.33 $ 26.65 $ 55,420


Map of annual mean wages of police and sheriff's patrol officers by state, May 2021


Top paying states for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 70,050 4.24 0.90 $ 49.48 $ 102,920
Washington 8,670 2.70 0.57 $ 44.42 $ 92,390
New Jersey 20,650 5.36 1.14 $ 44.08 $ 91,690
Alaska 1,320 4.47 0.95 $ 42.07 $ 87,510
Illinois 30,640 5.45 1.15 $ 39.81 $ 82,800



Map of employment of police and sheriff's patrol officers by area, May 2021


Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

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 51,330 5.91 1.25 $ 41.69 $ 86,720
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 25,840 4.52 0.96 $ 49.72 $ 103,410
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 24,500 5.79 1.23 $ 41.85 $ 87,050
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 16,120 6.57 1.39 $ 36.57 $ 76,060
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 15,360 5.24 1.11 $ 37.43 $ 77,850
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 15,020 5.19 1.10 $ 32.58 $ 67,760
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 14,660 4.08 0.86 $ 36.31 $ 75,530
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 13,820 5.21 1.10 $ 38.17 $ 79,400
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 12,400 4.79 1.01 $ 26.72 $ 55,570
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 11,690 4.52 0.96 $ 36.53 $ 75,970


Map of location quotient of police and sheriff's patrol officers by area, May 2021


Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Punta Gorda, FL 560 11.37 2.41 $ 31.00 $ 64,480
Hinesville, GA 210 10.98 2.33 $ 22.05 $ 45,870
Alexandria, LA 610 10.54 2.23 $ 19.12 $ 39,760
Farmington, NM 380 9.12 1.93 $ 26.38 $ 54,870
Ocean City, NJ 340 8.83 1.87 $ 37.44 $ 77,880
Lawton, OK 350 8.45 1.79 $ 23.92 $ 49,760
Kingston, NY 460 8.45 1.79 $ 32.31 $ 67,200
Gadsden, AL 260 8.27 1.75 $ 21.89 $ 45,540
Laredo, TX 800 8.20 1.74 $ 34.12 $ 70,970
San Angelo, TX 370 8.08 1.71 $ 27.92 $ 58,080


Map of annual mean wages of police and sheriff's patrol officers by area, May 2021


Top paying metropolitan areas for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 2,870 2.68 0.57 $ 60.56 $ 125,960
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 9,270 4.13 0.88 $ 56.95 $ 118,450
Napa, CA 230 3.27 0.69 $ 55.78 $ 116,010
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 730 5.66 1.20 $ 55.67 $ 115,800
Santa Rosa, CA 860 4.49 0.95 $ 50.99 $ 106,050
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 370 3.93 0.83 $ 50.20 $ 104,420
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 670 3.44 0.73 $ 50.16 $ 104,340
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 25,840 4.52 0.96 $ 49.72 $ 103,410
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA 540 4.86 1.03 $ 49.08 $ 102,090
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 1,180 3.97 0.84 $ 48.83 $ 101,560

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Southeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area 1,980 12.18 2.58 $ 24.55 $ 51,050
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 1,970 5.24 1.11 $ 20.96 $ 43,610
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,650 6.88 1.46 $ 21.43 $ 44,570
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 1,640 6.17 1.31 $ 25.33 $ 52,680
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,560 6.40 1.35 $ 21.72 $ 45,170

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Southeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area 1,980 12.18 2.58 $ 24.55 $ 51,050
Border Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 650 11.68 2.47 $ 25.93 $ 53,930
Arizona nonmetropolitan area 1,020 11.31 2.39 $ 27.45 $ 57,090
Northwest Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 870 9.97 2.11 $ 16.50 $ 34,320
Northeast South Carolina nonmetropolitan area 910 9.79 2.07 $ 19.37 $ 40,290

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers:

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 530 9.27 1.96 $ 42.50 $ 88,400
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 900 9.15 1.94 $ 41.65 $ 86,630
Connecticut nonmetropolitan area 190 5.96 1.26 $ 37.68 $ 78,380
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area 750 7.50 1.59 $ 37.68 $ 78,370
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 590 6.03 1.28 $ 37.23 $ 77,430


About May 2021 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 OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2021 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022