Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of police officer salary by state for the United States:
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Alaska has the highest police officer salary of $78,839
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Mississippi has the lowest police officer salary of $30,822
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The national average salary for police officers is $52,638
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The national hourly pay for police officers is $25.31
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do police officers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for police officer by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for police officers after this adjustment? That would be Alaska.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for police officer salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Police Officers By State
| Rank | State | Average Police Officer Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $78,839 | $70,000 | $87,000 |
| 2 | Washington | $73,316 | $59,000 | $90,000 |
| 3 | Oregon | $70,488 | $55,000 | $89,000 |
| 4 | California | $67,408 | $49,000 | $91,000 |
| 5 | North Dakota | $62,265 | $51,000 | $74,000 |
| 6 | Colorado | $61,400 | $49,000 | $76,000 |
| 7 | Connecticut | $60,266 | $45,000 | $80,000 |
| 8 | Vermont | $60,112 | $46,000 | $77,000 |
| 9 | Minnesota | $59,433 | $48,000 | $72,000 |
| 10 | Massachusetts | $56,693 | $42,000 | $75,000 |
| 11 | Illinois | $56,211 | $44,000 | $70,000 |
| 12 | Maryland | $56,143 | $42,000 | $74,000 |
| 13 | Nevada | $56,042 | $41,000 | $75,000 |
| 14 | New York | $55,639 | $41,000 | $74,000 |
| 15 | New Jersey | $55,401 | $41,000 | $74,000 |
| 16 | Wyoming | $54,894 | $44,000 | $67,000 |
| 17 | Rhode Island | $52,850 | $39,000 | $70,000 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | $51,430 | $41,000 | $64,000 |
| 19 | New Hampshire | $50,646 | $38,000 | $66,000 |
| 20 | Ohio | $50,537 | $39,000 | $65,000 |
| 21 | Montana | $50,478 | $41,000 | $61,000 |
| 22 | Iowa | $50,441 | $40,000 | $63,000 |
| 23 | Michigan | $50,274 | $39,000 | $63,000 |
| 24 | Delaware | $50,191 | $37,000 | $67,000 |
| 25 | Arizona | $50,130 | $37,000 | $66,000 |
| 26 | Nebraska | $49,726 | $39,000 | $61,000 |
| 27 | Utah | $49,292 | $38,000 | $62,000 |
| 28 | Idaho | $49,067 | $39,000 | $61,000 |
| 29 | Pennsylvania | $48,782 | $36,000 | $65,000 |
| 30 | Texas | $48,083 | $36,000 | $64,000 |
| 31 | South Dakota | $45,256 | $36,000 | $55,000 |
| 32 | Missouri | $43,930 | $34,000 | $55,000 |
| 33 | Florida | $43,231 | $31,000 | $59,000 |
| 34 | Indiana | $43,189 | $33,000 | $55,000 |
| 35 | New Mexico | $42,590 | $32,000 | $55,000 |
| 36 | Virginia | $42,314 | $31,000 | $56,000 |
| 37 | West Virginia | $42,308 | $32,000 | $55,000 |
| 38 | Maine | $41,492 | $32,000 | $53,000 |
| 39 | Hawaii | $40,510 | $34,000 | $47,000 |
| 40 | Kansas | $39,151 | $30,000 | $49,000 |
| 41 | Kentucky | $37,638 | $29,000 | $48,000 |
| 42 | Oklahoma | $36,849 | $28,000 | $47,000 |
| 43 | Tennessee | $36,744 | $28,000 | $48,000 |
| 44 | North Carolina | $36,157 | $27,000 | $47,000 |
| 45 | Georgia | $35,626 | $26,000 | $47,000 |
| 46 | South Carolina | $33,558 | $25,000 | $44,000 |
| 47 | Louisiana | $33,047 | $24,000 | $44,000 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $31,955 | $24,000 | $41,000 |
| 49 | Alabama | $31,858 | $23,000 | $42,000 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $30,822 | $23,000 | $40,000 |
Methodology: Police Officer Salary By State
To better understand police officer pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for police officers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for police officers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for police officers.
Police Officer Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for police officers?
The highest-paid state for police officers is Alaska with an average salary of $78,839 per year.
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What city pays police officers the most?
Anchorage, AK pays police officers the most with an average salary of $78,724 per year.
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What is the worst state for police officers?
The worst state for police officers is Mississippi with an average salary of $30,822 per year.
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.
