StateRates

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers salary by state

The median police and sheriff's patrol officers in the United States earned $76,290 a year in 2024, about $36.68 an hour. Across the 51 states reporting the occupation, pay runs from $115,400 in California down to $45,610 in Mississippi.

Protective service SOC 33-3051

National median $76,290 $36.68 per hour
Highest paying state $115,400 California
Lowest paying state $45,610 Mississippi
Employed 667,020 across 51 states

What the spread means

Pay for this occupation varies enormously by location. California pays roughly 2.5 times what Mississippi does for the same job title, which is a wider gap than most occupations show and usually points to differences in licensing, unionisation or the industries that employ these workers in each state.

A high median is not automatically a better deal. States that pay well for this work are frequently expensive places to live, and the same salary buys very different amounts of housing and energy depending on where it is earned. The state pages linked below carry electricity, gas and housing figures for the same places.

Highest paying states

Lowest paying states

Where the work is concentrated

Location quotient compares how common an occupation is in a state against how common it is nationally. A value of 2 means the state employs twice the national share of these workers. It is a better guide to where the jobs actually are than the raw count, which mostly tracks state population.

Most concentrated states, 2024
State Concentration Employed Median pay
Louisiana 1.73× 14,340 $50,580
District of Columbia 1.58× 4,830 $88,330
Mississippi 1.51× 7,590 $45,610
Alabama 1.33× 12,060 $53,850
New York 1.32× 54,360 $93,050

Every state

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers pay by state, 2024
# State Median salary Hourly 10th pct 90th pct Employed vs U.S.
1 California $115,400 $55.48 $76,010 $151,160 65,170 + 51.3%
2 Washington $102,640 $49.34 $75,780 $123,220 8,370 + 34.5%
3 Illinois $101,530 $48.81 $55,830 $119,020 29,790 + 33.1%
4 Alaska $100,300 $48.22 $69,370 $136,070 1,160 + 31.5%
5 Colorado $96,100 $46.20 $65,850 $111,360 9,480 + 26%
6 New York $93,050 $44.74 $53,020 $116,950 54,360 + 22%
7 Hawaii $89,390 $42.98 $75,370 $114,220 2,390 + 17.2%
8 New Jersey $89,030 $42.81 $57,260 $134,460 21,620 + 16.7%
9 District of Columbia $88,330 $42.47 $66,420 $115,730 4,830 + 15.8%
10 Oregon $88,140 $42.38 $68,270 $112,530 4,950 + 15.5%
11 Pennsylvania $86,350 $41.51 $50,070 $112,380 24,280 + 13.2%
12 Minnesota $83,310 $40.06 $60,390 $104,800 8,920 + 9.2%
13 Delaware $83,230 $40.02 $62,050 $104,840 1,790 + 9.1%
14 Connecticut $82,820 $39.82 $61,000 $102,820 6,500 + 8.6%
15 Arizona $79,370 $38.16 $59,760 $100,430 12,430 + 4%
16 Wisconsin $78,980 $37.97 $55,450 $93,460 11,500 + 3.5%
17 Nevada $78,670 $37.82 $62,980 $102,460 5,490 + 3.1%
18 Massachusetts $78,610 $37.80 $59,870 $106,300 17,000 + 3%
19 Maryland $77,440 $37.23 $58,140 $109,300 9,420 + 1.5%
20 Rhode Island $77,280 $37.15 $54,980 $89,070 1,780 + 1.3%
21 Utah $77,210 $37.12 $58,870 $98,670 5,370 + 1.2%
22 Ohio $77,050 $37.05 $49,390 $104,430 24,050 + 1%
23 Texas $76,350 $36.71 $51,590 $99,450 62,230 + 0.1%
24 Florida $76,190 $36.63 $52,500 $117,940 48,340 -0.1%
25 North Dakota $75,530 $36.31 $58,580 $92,340 1,850 -1%
26 Michigan $74,420 $35.78 $49,390 $91,210 16,290 -2.5%
27 Iowa $73,900 $35.53 $57,460 $96,260 5,110 -3.1%
28 Nebraska $72,160 $34.69 $50,080 $96,340 3,620 -5.4%
29 Indiana $71,540 $34.39 $52,860 $93,990 13,480 -6.2%
30 Montana $69,910 $33.61 $51,820 $88,090 2,020 -8.4%
31 New Hampshire $67,620 $32.51 $54,410 $89,120 2,550 -11.4%
32 Idaho $66,150 $31.80 $48,980 $92,710 2,630 -13.3%
33 Maine $65,330 $31.41 $54,660 $84,270 1,930 -14.4%
34 Wyoming $65,180 $31.34 $49,380 $80,720 1,300 -14.6%
35 Virginia $65,110 $31.30 $50,160 $96,700 19,400 -14.7%
36 Vermont $63,690 $30.62 $46,500 $89,110 1,080 -16.5%
37 New Mexico $63,340 $30.45 $47,470 $77,910 4,830 -17%
38 Missouri $60,720 $29.19 $41,970 $90,900 12,750 -20.4%
39 South Dakota $60,300 $28.99 $46,940 $83,640 1,890 -21%
40 Kentucky $60,230 $28.96 $40,600 $78,820 7,090 -21.1%
41 Tennessee $59,410 $28.56 $40,940 $81,340 13,780 -22.1%
42 North Carolina $58,030 $27.90 $44,850 $80,920 21,650 -23.9%
43 South Carolina $58,020 $27.90 $43,640 $78,590 12,820 -23.9%
44 Oklahoma $57,360 $27.58 $34,780 $95,950 9,420 -24.8%
45 Kansas $56,610 $27.22 $37,640 $82,870 6,160 -25.8%
46 Georgia $56,350 $27.09 $42,180 $77,750 21,540 -26.1%
47 West Virginia $54,570 $26.24 $39,780 $68,080 3,130 -28.5%
48 Alabama $53,850 $25.89 $37,010 $78,140 12,060 -29.4%
49 Louisiana $50,580 $24.32 $35,170 $73,270 14,340 -33.7%
50 Arkansas $48,090 $23.12 $35,950 $69,420 5,490 -37%
51 Mississippi $45,610 $21.93 $30,450 $58,780 7,590 -40.2%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 state estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-09. Figures cover wage and salary workers and exclude the self-employed. Methodology

Frequently asked questions

How much does a police and sheriff's patrol officers make?

The national median is $76,290 a year, or about $36.68 an hour, as of the 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. Half of workers in the occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Which state pays police and sheriff's patrol officerss the most?

California, at a median of $115,400. Washington ($102,640) and Illinois ($101,530) follow. Pay that looks high often reflects a high cost of living rather than a better deal, so it is worth reading alongside what housing and energy cost in the same state.

How many people work as police and sheriff's patrol officerss?

About 667,020 across the states reporting the occupation, against a national estimate of 666,990.

Is this figure a salary or an hourly rate?

Both are published. BLS surveys employers rather than workers, so these are wages paid rather than wages reported by employees, and they exclude self-employed people. Annual figures for occupations that are typically part-time or seasonal should be read with that in mind.