Jail officer vs prison officer

The differences between jail officers and prison officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a prison officer has an average salary of $43,925, which is higher than the $40,440 average annual salary of a jail officer.

The top three skills for a jail officer include booking, security checks and security procedures. The most important skills for a prison officer are security checks, incident reports, and .

Jail officer vs prison officer overview

	Jail Officer	Prison Officer
Yearly salary	$40,440	$43,925
Hourly rate	$19.44	$21.12
Growth rate	-10%	-10%
Number of jobs	57,236	57,229
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Jail officer vs prison officer salary

Jail officers and prison officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Jail Officer	Prison Officer
Average salary	$40,440	$43,925
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $55,000	Between $33,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between jail officer and prison officer education

There are a few differences between a jail officer and a prison officer in terms of educational background:

	Jail Officer	Prison Officer
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Jail officer vs prison officer demographics

Here are the differences between jail officers' and prison officers' demographics:

	Jail Officer	Prison Officer
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 64.8% Female, 35.2%	Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 17.1% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 2.0% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 17.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 2.3% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between jail officer and prison officer duties and responsibilities

Jail officer example responsibilities.

Job description includes booking in and managing inmates in correctional facility.
Administer first aid and CPR whenever necessary.
Experience and certification in VCIN, and CPR.
Run and enter information into NCIC computer network as needed.
Patrol assign areas for evidence of unauthorize activities, infractions of rules, unsatisfactory attitudes or unsatisfactory adjustment of inmates.
Operate and monitor CCTV, fire suppression and intrusion alarms and systems.

Prison officer example responsibilities.

Complete fire safety, CPR, self-defense and investigation/observation training, along with behavioral awareness/management training.
Serve as loader of special ammunition weapon; prepare ammunition while exercising safety precautions.

Jail officer vs prison officer skills

Common jail officer skills

Booking, 19%
Security Checks, 10%
Security Procedures, 9%
Emergency Situations, 9%
Direct Supervision, 8%
Master Control, 5%

Common prison officer skills

Security Checks, 58%
Incident Reports, 42%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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