Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

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.

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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: Top

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)
654,900	0.5 %	$ 33.66	$ 70,000	0.9 %

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

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 18.47	$ 23.54	$ 31.51	$ 41.77	$ 52.42
Annual Wage (2)	$ 38,420	$ 48,950	$ 65,540	$ 86,880	$ 109,040

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Industry profile for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers: Top

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)	554,770	10.27	$ 33.63	$ 69,940
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	60,220	2.74	$ 37.13	$ 77,230
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	14,960	0.49	$ 28.75	$ 59,790
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	12,660	0.61	$ 29.83	$ 62,050
Elementary and Secondary Schools	6,210	0.08	$ 28.30	$ 58,860

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)	554,770	10.27	$ 33.63	$ 69,940
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	60,220	2.74	$ 37.13	$ 77,230
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	12,660	0.61	$ 29.83	$ 62,050
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	14,960	0.49	$ 28.75	$ 59,790
Junior Colleges	3,280	0.48	$ 27.39	$ 56,970

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)	60,220	2.74	$ 37.13	$ 77,230
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	554,770	10.27	$ 33.63	$ 69,940
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	12,660	0.61	$ 29.83	$ 62,050
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	14,960	0.49	$ 28.75	$ 59,790
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1,730	0.03	$ 28.70	$ 59,700

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Geographic profile for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers: Top

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.

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	74,310	4.52	0.96	$ 51.65	$ 107,440
Texas	57,830	4.78	1.01	$ 31.56	$ 65,640
New York	55,590	6.40	1.36	$ 38.56	$ 80,210
Florida	38,580	4.57	0.97	$ 30.13	$ 62,680
Illinois	29,190	5.19	1.10	$ 37.72	$ 78,450

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	5,490	7.99	1.70	$ 38.27	$ 79,600
Mississippi	7,780	7.22	1.53	$ 17.89	$ 37,210
New York	55,590	6.40	1.36	$ 38.56	$ 80,210
New Jersey	23,860	6.31	1.34	$ 43.61	$ 90,700
Alabama	11,820	6.21	1.32	$ 22.86	$ 47,550

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	74,310	4.52	0.96	$ 51.65	$ 107,440
New Jersey	23,860	6.31	1.34	$ 43.61	$ 90,700
Alaska	1,200	4.04	0.86	$ 42.37	$ 88,120
Washington	9,090	2.84	0.60	$ 39.78	$ 82,740
Hawaii	2,470	4.31	0.91	$ 39.17	$ 81,460

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	60,100	6.80	1.44	$ 41.48	$ 86,290
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	31,840	5.47	1.16	$ 53.23	$ 110,720
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	23,650	5.42	1.15	$ 39.61	$ 82,380
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	15,320	5.07	1.08	$ 37.03	$ 77,020
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	15,220	5.13	1.09	$ 32.55	$ 67,700
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	14,690	5.45	1.16	$ 36.66	$ 76,260
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	14,210	3.96	0.84	$ 35.24	$ 73,300
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	12,970	5.17	1.10	$ 35.19	$ 73,190
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	12,700	4.82	1.02	$ 24.70	$ 51,380
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	10,520	4.04	0.86	$ 37.76	$ 78,550

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)
Hinesville, GA	200	11.15	2.37	$ 20.80	$ 43,260
Ocean City, NJ	370	10.47	2.22	$ 35.78	$ 74,410
Alexandria, LA	530	9.35	1.99	$ 18.09	$ 37,630
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA	1,520	9.25	1.96	$ 21.98	$ 45,710
Gadsden, AL	280	8.71	1.85	$ 20.69	$ 43,030
Hattiesburg, MS	530	8.64	1.83	$ 17.68	$ 36,780
Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ	260	8.29	1.76	$ 27.68	$ 57,570
New Bern, NC	340	8.13	1.73	$ 23.73	$ 49,350
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ	880	7.96	1.69	$ 39.08	$ 81,280
Salinas, CA	1,360	7.95	1.69	$ 40.07	$ 83,340