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Job outlook for enforcement officers in the United States
Enforcement officer job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected enforcement officer job growth rate is 3% from 2018-2028.
About 20,600 new jobs for enforcement officers are projected over the next decade.
Enforcement officer salaries have increased 10% for enforcement officers in the last 5 years.
There are over 7,678 enforcement officers currently employed in the United States.
There are 82,142 active enforcement officer job openings in the US.
The average enforcement officer salary is $38,446.
Are enforcement officer jobs in demand?
Enforcement officer job and salary trends over time
Enforcement officer jobs over time
Enforcement officer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7,678 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 7,557 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 7,677 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 7,631 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 7,643 | 0.00% |
Average enforcement officer salary over time
Enforcement officer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $38,446 | $18.48 | +3.8% |
| 2025 | $37,044 | $17.81 | +2.9% |
| 2024 | $36,006 | $17.31 | +0.5% |
| 2023 | $35,812 | $17.22 | +2.3% |
| 2022 | $35,009 | $16.83 | +2.3% |
Enforcement officer jobs by state
Most common states for enforcement officers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 156 | 22% |
| 2 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,566 | 18% |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,214 | 18% |
| 4 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 976 | 17% |
| 5 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 178 | 17% |
| 6 | Delaware | 961,939 | 160 | 17% |
| 7 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 126 | 17% |
| 8 | Vermont | 623,657 | 103 | 17% |
| 9 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 876 | 16% |
| 10 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 938 | 15% |
| 11 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 207 | 15% |
| 12 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 994 | 14% |
| 13 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 260 | 14% |
| 14 | Alaska | 739,795 | 104 | 14% |
| 15 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 962 | 13% |
| 16 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 657 | 13% |
| 17 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 474 | 13% |
| 18 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 402 | 13% |
| 19 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 269 | 13% |
| 20 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 171 | 13% |
Most common cities for enforcement officers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anchorage | 2 | 1% | $65,530 |
| 2 | Greeley | 1 | 1% | $39,951 |
| 3 | Salt Lake City | 1 | 1% | $38,564 |
| 4 | Dallas | 1 | 0% | $38,768 |
| 5 | Glendale | 1 | 0% | $37,819 |
| 6 | Saint Paul | 1 | 0% | $41,005 |
Enforcement Officer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of enforcement officer experts
Governors State University
Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg
Georgia Southern University
Curry College
University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
Jill Myers
Director of the School of Law Enforcement and Justice AdministrationWhat general advice would you give to an Enforcement Officer?
Jill Myers: The more skill sets you have the better prepared you will be for future advancement and salary increases. Having a solid education, a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice and a masters degree will sometimes result in increased wages. Having federal certifications and competencies will enhance your opportunities and create potential marketability for your career. It is always a great skill set to have people skills, communication in both written and oral formats. It will enhance your ability to explain yourself in court, in the warrants one prepares, and with dealing with the public in all circumstances from victims and witnesses and suspects, to legislators, the funding sources like mayors and city council and the public at large.
Dr. Latarcia Barnes PhD
Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology, Associate ProfessorWhat will help Enforcement Officers increase their earning potential?
Dr. Latarcia Barnes PhD: All skills can be beneficial in the criminal justice field because agencies are expanding job skills and qualifications to meet the changing needs of the world in relation to criminal justice. Many employed in this field hold degrees other than criminal justice. Federal criminal justice agencies are recruiting other majors because of those skill sets they possess. For example, accountants are being recruited for forensic accounting. Therefore with criminal justice majors, it is beneficial to make oneself more marketable by having a minor in another discipline.
Dr. Janet Brewer
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice & SociologyGovernors State University
Criminal Justice And Corrections
What general advice would you give to an Enforcement Officer?
Dr. Janet Brewer: Market yourself as someone who can increase revenue or decrease workload for that entity. Use your school's alumni network to its fullest.
Jennifer Gibbs Ph.D.
Associate ProfessorPennsylvania State University - Harrisburg
School of Public Affairs, Criminal Justice Program
What skills stand out on Enforcement Officer resumes?
Jennifer Gibbs Ph.D.: Police officers need many skills to be successful on the job. The most important are written and oral communication skills and the ability to make ethical decisions with limited information quickly. Written communications skills are crucial. If a police report is poorly worded or incomplete, it can derail a criminal case. Police officers also need to talk to people of all ages from all walks of life in any circumstance. Often, police meet people on what may be the worst day of their lives when emotions are running high. Police need to be able to help calm a person while gathering information. Police need to be able to use their words and body language to empathize with someone who has been victimized, and they need to project authority, so people making poor decisions obey their commands.
This may be common sense, but research has demonstrated that communication and ethical decision-making skills are important for police officers. (See the research article published in 2017 in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education, entitled "An assessment of the relative importance of criminal justice learning objectives," by Baker and colleagues.) Baker and colleagues asked students, professionals, and college professors to rate the skills of hypothetical job applicants. These participants rated the following as the most important characteristics for criminal justice applicants (including law enforcement officers):
Ethics
Oral communication
Critical thinking
Sensitivity to diversity
Written communication skills
Logan Somers Ph.D.
Assistant ProfessorGeorgia Southern University
Criminal Justice and Criminology Department
What skills stand out on Enforcement Officer resumes?
Logan Somers Ph.D.: Skills and experiences that stand out on Law Enforcement Officer resumes are not too dissimilar from desirable qualities in other industries. First, even though the vast majority of police departments do not have an education requirement beyond high school, most recruits entering the academy do have at least some college experience. Therefore, having an associate's or bachelor's degree will make you competitive. Further, policing in today's society requires officers to be elite communicators, critical thinkers, and problem-solvers. Any prior work experience that can be used to demonstrate how you performed those skills under pressure should be highlighted. Lastly, any prior community service and or mentoring should be included. Having these experiences displays your commitment to improving your community and bettering the lives of those around you.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Enforcement Officers?
Logan Somers Ph.D.: A significant portion of an officer's day can often be spent filling out paperwork. Every stop, citation, warrant, arrest, or use of force incident typically requires forms that need to be filled out and sent to supervisors for review. This makes the ability to write proficiently and provide a descriptive narrative of events crucial for day-to-day police work.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Enforcement Officers?
Jennifer Balboni: Yes! Without question, over the last year, the pandemic has impacted nearly every occupation around the globe. These effects were felt most keenly in the medical field, but the impact in the criminal justice field has been incredibly steep as well, and the changes for police, courts, and corrections promise to be around even once this pandemic is more under control. First, it's important to note that police professionals are currently managing twin crises: the pandemic and public tumult stemming from a series of well-publicized needless deaths of young African Americans at the hands of police. It's nearly impossible to disentangle the impact of the pandemic from the impact of the crisis of legitimacy in policing, as these are happening simultaneously. This means that, in addition to the stressors of the job related to the pandemic, policing right now is fundamentally more stressful. As the public demands reform, organizations are shifting their priorities in response. New graduates who wish to pursue law enforcement would be wise to identify agencies that share their value system and commitment to justice so that they are part of this field's positive evolution.
In the fields of corrections and the courts, the implications of the pandemic are equally important-- although much less discussed in the media. Courts are currently facing significant backlogs (few juries have been convened during the last year-leaving a logjam of many open criminal cases). Correctional institutions have used the pandemic as the impetus to de-carcerate, which shifts responsibilities from institutional to community corrections, as those released are often in need of support services in order to be successful. Analysts predict that the reduction in the incarcerated population could bring some savings to local and state budgets, and this may provide some pressure to make the efforts to de-carcerate more permanent. Both of these fields are adapting and it is likely that the pandemic's impact will be long-lasting.
While new graduates certainly will be facing unprecedented challenges in their new professional roles, it's important to consider that this stress can also bring significant opportunity. If necessity is the mother of invention, then creative and energetic graduates may have more opportunity to implement innovative responses they've learned about in college in these fields in the near future.
Dr. Durmus Alper CAMLIBEL Ph.D.
Assistant ProfessorUniversity of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
Department of Criminal Justice
What general advice would you give to an Enforcement Officer?
Dr. Durmus Alper CAMLIBEL Ph.D.: They need to avoid being overzealous officers. They should not put their career at the center of their life. They need to spend quality time with their family. In law enforcement, good relations with the public and colleagues are essential. They need to develop good relationships with the people and their colleagues and expand their professional network. They always try to be a "problem solver officer" rather than a "problem creator officer." If someone asks for help from them, they should treat this person with dignity and respect. They should avoid being arrogant in their interaction with the public. Because arrogance is the worst plague, and Humility is the greatest virtue.