Find a Job You Really Want In
Police Officers are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as police officers in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since police officers are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where police officers have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for police officers.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s police officers:
So there you have it — Police And Sheriff’s Patrol Officers is the best of the best when it comes to being a police officer.
How did Police And Sheriff’s Patrol Officers end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for police officers and for more on the top ten states.
If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- Best Companies to Work For in Chicago, IL
- These Are The 20 Best Small Companies In Chicago To Work For
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Chicago
How we determined the best states to be a police officer
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:
- Availability of jobs
- Higher Pay
So in order to find out the best states for police officers in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well police officers get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2018:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for police officers in California is $101,380 and the average salary in Illinois is $75,720, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for police officers in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for police officers.
1. Illinois
Total Jobs: 30,370
Average Annual Salary: $75,720
Average Entry Level Salary: $40,150
Average Experienced Salary: $102,210
Location Quotient: 1.11
2. California
Total Jobs: 72,680
Average Annual Salary: $101,380
Average Entry Level Salary: $63,250
Average Experienced Salary: $138,970
Location Quotient: 0.94
3. Texas
Total Jobs: 60,260
Average Annual Salary: $61,870
Average Entry Level Salary: $39,850
Average Experienced Salary: $85,470
Location Quotient: 1.09
4. Delaware
Total Jobs: 1,790
Average Annual Salary: $70,000
Average Entry Level Salary: $46,990
Average Experienced Salary: $98,370
Location Quotient: 0.87
5. New Jersey
Total Jobs: 19,950
Average Annual Salary: $83,720
Average Entry Level Salary: $45,370
Average Experienced Salary: $123,890
Location Quotient: 1.08
6. Colorado
Total Jobs: 9,840
Average Annual Salary: $72,950
Average Entry Level Salary: $49,300
Average Experienced Salary: $98,060
Location Quotient: 0.82
7. Washington
Total Jobs: 9,670
Average Annual Salary: $77,670
Average Entry Level Salary: $53,960
Average Experienced Salary: $101,110
Location Quotient: 0.65
8. Nevada
Total Jobs: 5,120
Average Annual Salary: $70,450
Average Entry Level Salary: $51,880
Average Experienced Salary: $95,510
Location Quotient: 0.83
9. Pennsylvania
Total Jobs: 27,850
Average Annual Salary: $66,600
Average Entry Level Salary: $35,650
Average Experienced Salary: $98,760
Location Quotient: 1.04
10. Arizona
Total Jobs: 11,320
Average Annual Salary: $64,640
Average Entry Level Salary: $44,660
Average Experienced Salary: $81,400
Location Quotient: 0.89
There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Police Officer
If you’re looking to start out your career as a police officer these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be a police officer in America:
For more reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Best States For police officers
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois | $75,720 |
| 2 | California | $101,380 |
| 3 | Texas | $61,870 |
| 4 | Delaware | $70,000 |
| 5 | New Jersey | $83,720 |
| 6 | Colorado | $72,950 |
| 7 | Washington | $77,670 |
| 8 | Nevada | $70,450 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | $66,600 |
| 10 | Arizona | $64,640 |
| 11 | Minnesota | $69,060 |
| 12 | Ohio | $61,040 |
| 13 | Alaska | $88,030 |
| 14 | Florida | $59,610 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | $62,040 |
| 16 | Wyoming | $55,050 |
| 17 | Indiana | $55,310 |
| 18 | Iowa | $58,340 |
| 19 | Virginia | $56,710 |
| 20 | New York | $74,860 |
| 21 | Michigan | $56,270 |
| 22 | Nebraska | $57,530 |
| 23 | Idaho | $53,880 |
| 24 | New Mexico | $51,250 |
| 25 | Oregon | $70,360 |
| 26 | North Dakota | $57,190 |
| 27 | Maryland | $68,230 |
| 28 | Connecticut | $71,920 |
| 29 | North Carolina | $48,420 |
| 30 | Missouri | $48,920 |
| 31 | Kansas | $48,350 |
| 32 | Alabama | $45,930 |
| 33 | Utah | $53,890 |
| 34 | Massachusetts | $69,870 |
| 35 | Oklahoma | $46,120 |
| 36 | Montana | $56,230 |
| 37 | New Hampshire | $58,120 |
| 38 | Georgia | $42,990 |
| 39 | West Virginia | $43,590 |
| 40 | Tennessee | $44,600 |
| 41 | Kentucky | $45,600 |
| 42 | Arkansas | $39,560 |
| 43 | Rhode Island | $60,890 |
| 44 | Louisiana | $41,550 |
| 45 | South Carolina | $42,280 |
| 46 | Mississippi | $35,550 |
| 47 | South Dakota | $48,550 |
| 48 | Hawaii | $74,040 |
| 49 | Vermont | $52,940 |
| 50 | Maine | $49,840 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
