Lieutenant vs commanding officer

The differences between lieutenants and commanding officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a lieutenant has an average salary of $47,781, which is higher than the $40,452 average annual salary of a commanding officer.

The top three skills for a lieutenant include public safety, patrol and direct supervision. The most important skills for a commanding officer are logistical support, emergency situations, and combat.

Lieutenant vs commanding officer overview

	Lieutenant	Commanding Officer
Yearly salary	$47,781	$40,452
Hourly rate	$22.97	$19.45
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	79,272	55,602
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	-	-

Lieutenant vs commanding officer salary

Lieutenants and commanding officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lieutenant	Commanding Officer
Average salary	$47,781	$40,452
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $55,000	Between $33,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Denver, CO	-
Highest paying state	Colorado	-
Best paying company	Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory	-
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between lieutenant and commanding officer education

There are a few differences between a lieutenant and a commanding officer in terms of educational background:

	Lieutenant	Commanding Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Business
Most common college	Pennsylvania State University	Pennsylvania State University

Lieutenant vs commanding officer demographics

Here are the differences between lieutenants' and commanding officers' demographics:

	Lieutenant	Commanding Officer
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4%	Male, 86.6% Female, 13.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 1.8% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 1.8% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between lieutenant and commanding officer duties and responsibilities

Lieutenant example responsibilities.

Manage a robust fire training program meeting NFPA, DoD, AFOSH, and German fire credentials.
Manage respiratory and cardiac emergencies to include performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Facilitate the planning, delegation of duties, and conduct all training events for ROTC personnel.
Coordinate the logistics throughout fully simulate combat operations in preparation to deploy to Afghanistan.
prepare paperwork to send to ems biller.
Mentore underclassmen in ROTC policies and procedures.

Commanding officer example responsibilities.

Lead precinct to the largest percentage decrease in crime of all 76 NYC precincts.
Facilitate strategic planning efforts and public-private partnerships to maximize results in accomplishing DHS and USCG missions.
Coordinate and manage logistical combat support services, engineering support, and security escorts to bases/units locate within the region.
Orchestrate the day to day demands, managing deficiencies/opportunities and prioritization of unit operations throughout specific target areas within NYC.
CAPTAIN GEORGE``JOE"PAITL, USCG (Ret . )
Used CCTV to continuously monitor customer, staff, and parking lot areas.

Lieutenant vs commanding officer skills

Common lieutenant skills

Public Safety, 11%
Patrol, 10%
Direct Supervision, 8%
Security Procedures, 7%
Incident Command, 7%
Criminal Justice, 6%

Common commanding officer skills

Logistical Support, 12%
Emergency Situations, 9%
Combat, 8%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 7%
Direct Oversight, 5%
Coast Guard, 5%

Lieutenant vs. similar jobs

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Lieutenant
Lieutenant vs Commanding Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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