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Sergeant vs lieutenant

The differences between sergeants and lieutenants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sergeant has an average salary of $48,557, which is higher than the $47,781 average annual salary of a lieutenant.

The top three skills for a sergeant include safety procedures, patrol and direct supervision. The most important skills for a lieutenant are public safety, patrol, and direct supervision.

Sergeant vs lieutenant overview

SergeantLieutenant
Yearly salary$48,557$47,781
Hourly rate$23.34$22.97
Growth rate-10%-
Number of jobs79,33579,272
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age4646
Years of experience--

What does a sergeant do?

A Sergeant is responsible for supervising a group of five or more Soldiers. Sergeants must oversee their daily activities, ensuring they are in proper disposition and are living under the conditions that adhere to the laws and regulations and training them according to the standards of the military. Furthermore, it is a Sergeant's responsibility to serve the public and report to the higher-ups, instill discipline to oneself, and serve as a role model to lower-ranked soldiers.

What does a lieutenant do?

A lieutenant is responsible for overseeing operations in police departments, evaluating departmental cases, cooperating in law enforcement investigations, monitoring internal activities, and ensuring the safety and security of the premises. Lieutenants also enforce rules and regulations for everyone's strict compliance, inspect police department facilities, and identify serious offenses. They also confiscate violating items, document any evidence for further investigation. A lieutenant must have excellent leadership skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the law regulations to maintain the credibility and integrity of the police operations.

Sergeant vs lieutenant salary

Sergeants and lieutenants have different pay scales, as shown below.

SergeantLieutenant
Average salary$48,557$47,781
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $66,000Between $41,000 And $55,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYDenver, CO
Highest paying stateNew YorkColorado
Best paying companyColumbia University in the City of New YorkLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Best paying industryGovernmentTechnology

Differences between sergeant and lieutenant education

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

SergeantLieutenant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common majorCriminal JusticeCriminal Justice
Most common collegePennsylvania State UniversityPennsylvania State University

Sergeant vs lieutenant demographics

Here are the differences between sergeants' and lieutenants' demographics:

SergeantLieutenant
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 85.0% Female, 15.0%Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 1.8% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%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%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between sergeant and lieutenant duties and responsibilities

Sergeant example responsibilities.

  • Manage critical incidents including barricade gunmen, VIP visits, homicides, shootings and in-progress crimes.
  • Manage and submit all schedules for maximum security unit, and all non security staff assign to that unit.
  • Monitor and manage enlisted promotion boards and actions; publish promotion orders for soldiers being promote to SGT and SSG.
  • Assist in establishing overall S3 objectives and accomplishing assign missions.
  • Manage training for CBRN response operations including detection and decontamination equipment.
  • Implement USAF, DoD and MAJCOM security policies while balancing operational needs with security requirements for the protection of classify information.
    • Show more

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.
    • Show more

Sergeant vs lieutenant skills

Common sergeant skills
  • Safety Procedures, 16%
  • Patrol, 14%
  • Direct Supervision, 9%
  • Emergency Situations, 7%
  • Combat, 6%
  • CPR, 5%
Common lieutenant skills
  • Public Safety, 11%
  • Patrol, 10%
  • Direct Supervision, 8%
  • Security Procedures, 7%
  • Incident Command, 7%
  • Criminal Justice, 6%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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