State patrol officer vs law enforcement officer

The differences between state patrol officers and law enforcement officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a state patrol officer has an average salary of $42,229, which is higher than the $39,219 average annual salary of a law enforcement officer.

The top three skills for a state patrol officer include patrol, field training and background investigations. The most important skills for a law enforcement officer are patrol, public safety, and emergency situations.

State patrol officer vs law enforcement officer overview

	State Patrol Officer	Law Enforcement Officer
Yearly salary	$42,229	$39,219
Hourly rate	$20.30	$18.86
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	76,228	105,817
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

State patrol officer vs law enforcement officer salary

State patrol officers and law enforcement officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	State Patrol Officer	Law Enforcement Officer
Average salary	$42,229	$39,219
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $66,000	Between $30,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	Anchorage, AK	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Washington
Best paying company	Mayor Ethan Berkowitz	University of Nebraska System
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between state patrol officer and law enforcement officer education

There are a few differences between a state patrol officer and a law enforcement officer in terms of educational background:

	State Patrol Officer	Law Enforcement Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Pennsylvania State University

State patrol officer vs law enforcement officer demographics

Here are the differences between state patrol officers' and law enforcement officers' demographics:

	State Patrol Officer	Law Enforcement Officer
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 66.4% Female, 33.6%	Male, 80.3% Female, 19.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 3.3% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 13.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 3.1% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between state patrol officer and law enforcement officer duties and responsibilities

State patrol officer example responsibilities.

Supervise cadets (new highway patrol cadets) undergoing firearms training and accurately detect causative factors for inadequacies.
Provide patrol duties on the state's highways being vigilant for any factors compromising the safety of all motorist and pedestrians.
Qualify and utilize firearms provide emergency assistance, conduct investigations, report writing and presenting testimony in a court of law.
Conduct driving while intoxicate (DWI) and traffic-relate investigations.

Law enforcement officer example responsibilities.

Attend NCO leadership school and receive training on how to properly, and effectively manage personnel.
Accomplish scheduled and random security checks of control and classify areas to ensure compliance with DOD resource protection guidelines.
Develop and manage firearms training programs, including weapons selection and qualification standards.
Operate QRV solo, backing up BLS ambulances.
Certify in defensive tactics, firearms, driver's training, professional first aid and CPR.
DOT and FMCSA regulation enforcement.

State patrol officer vs law enforcement officer skills

Common state patrol officer skills

Patrol, 79%
Field Training, 9%
Background Investigations, 6%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 3%
Emergency Situations, 1%
Traffic Crashes, 1%

Common law enforcement officer skills

Patrol, 26%
Public Safety, 10%
Emergency Situations, 7%
Criminal Justice, 6%
CPR, 3%
Metal Detectors, 3%

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State Patrol Officer
State Patrol Officer vs Law Enforcement Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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