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.

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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:

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

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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

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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.

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

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

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

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

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