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Captain vs police lieutenant

The differences between captains and police lieutenants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a police lieutenant has an average salary of $70,614, which is higher than the $52,161 average annual salary of a captain.

The top three skills for a captain include customer service, safety standards and food preparation. The most important skills for a police lieutenant are patrol, public safety, and law enforcement agencies.

Captain vs police lieutenant overview

CaptainPolice Lieutenant
Yearly salary$52,161$70,614
Hourly rate$25.08$33.95
Growth rate1%-
Number of jobs4,4302,306
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age4246
Years of experience6-

What does a captain do?

Captains oversee the entire operations of a sea vessel, usually ships. Their main responsibility is to ensure that the vessel safely travels from point A to point B. They are expert navigators who manage the course of the vessel. Captains should also be familiar with the different equipment aboard the ship and should be able to use them effectively. They should know how to properly maintain the equipment on board and should also know how to do repairs. Captains also manage their ship's crew and oversee the crews' overall performance. They also manage the finances and other operations-related activities during the course of their travel. Captains should have good communication skills, quick decision-making skills, and expert navigation skills.

What does a police lieutenant do?

A Police Lieutenant plans, oversees, and coordinates the daily activities of a designated operational entity of the Police Department. They manage a specific division of the police department, such as crime prevention, operations, or administration.

Captain vs police lieutenant salary

Captains and police lieutenants have different pay scales, as shown below.

CaptainPolice Lieutenant
Average salary$52,161$70,614
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $85,000Between $51,000 And $97,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAReno, NV
Highest paying stateCaliforniaWashington
Best paying companyGoogleMethodist Health System
Best paying industryTransportationGovernment

Differences between captain and police lieutenant education

There are a few differences between a captain and a police lieutenant in terms of educational background:

CaptainPolice Lieutenant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common majorBusinessCriminal Justice
Most common collegeStanford UniversityPennsylvania State University

Captain vs police lieutenant demographics

Here are the differences between captains' and police lieutenants' demographics:

CaptainPolice Lieutenant
Average age4246
Gender ratioMale, 65.4% Female, 34.6%Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 3.1% White, 75.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 1.8% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between captain and police lieutenant duties and responsibilities

Captain example responsibilities.

  • Delegate responsibilities to crew members, verify inventory, manage payroll, steer the ship and operate dredge.
  • Lead the team as defensive captain to win the national championship of the most elite football level in Mexico.
  • Lead a platoon that earn numerous awards for jamming opposition force artillery nets and conducting counterattacks on opposition electronic warfare platoons.
  • Participate in intramural volleyball, basketball and indoor and outdoor soccer.
  • Ensure the synchronized delivery of additional manpower to combat operations by utilizing all available assets and effective logistics management.
  • Complete CPR and a training.
  • Show more

Police lieutenant example responsibilities.

  • Orchestrate the day to day demands, managing deficiencies/opportunities and prioritization of unit operations throughout specific target areas within NYC.
  • Direct members of firefighting crews in the care and maintenance of firefighting apparatus and equipment, assign and review their work.
  • Supervise assigned uniform personnel through coordination of roll calls, schedules and daily patrol assignments.
  • Supervise shift and departmental operations; monitor and evaluate subordinates work, review reports and direct patrol and investigative operations.
  • Orchestrate the day to day demands, managing deficiencies/opportunities and prioritization of unit operations throughout specific target areas within NYC.
  • Arrange quarterly Compstat, take complaint reports (CRs), handle special attentions and conduct roll call training.

Captain vs police lieutenant skills

Common captain skills
  • Customer Service, 21%
  • Safety Standards, 11%
  • Food Preparation, 11%
  • POS, 5%
  • Role Model, 5%
  • Logistics, 4%
Common police lieutenant skills
  • Patrol, 31%
  • Public Safety, 10%
  • Law Enforcement Agencies, 8%
  • Criminal Justice, 5%
  • Direct Supervision, 5%
  • Emergency Situations, 5%

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