State trooper vs highway patrol pilot

The differences between state troopers and highway patrol pilots can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a highway patrol pilot has an average salary of $52,731, which is higher than the $39,812 average annual salary of a state trooper.

The top three skills for a state trooper include patrol, public safety and law enforcement agencies. The most important skills for a highway patrol pilot are patrol, , and .

State trooper vs highway patrol pilot overview

	State Trooper	Highway Patrol Pilot
Yearly salary	$39,812	$52,731
Hourly rate	$19.14	$25.35
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	630	24,434
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

State trooper vs highway patrol pilot salary

State troopers and highway patrol pilots have different pay scales, as shown below.

	State Trooper	Highway Patrol Pilot
Average salary	$39,812	$52,731
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $50,000	Between $38,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	Olympia, WA	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	Washington State University	-
Best paying industry	Finance	-

Differences between state trooper and highway patrol pilot education

There are a few differences between a state trooper and a highway patrol pilot in terms of educational background:

	State Trooper	Highway Patrol Pilot
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Aviation
Most common college	Pennsylvania State University	University of Pennsylvania

State trooper vs highway patrol pilot demographics

Here are the differences between state troopers' and highway patrol pilots' demographics:

	State Trooper	Highway Patrol Pilot
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9%	Male, 92.9% Female, 7.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 3.8% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 2.7% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between state trooper and highway patrol pilot duties and responsibilities

State trooper example responsibilities.

Administer CPR and Narcan injections for drug overdoses.
Answer calls for service, provide assistance to strand motorists, DUI detection and drug interdiction.
Monitor potential driving under the influence motor vehicle suspects, and subsequently make DUI arrests when appropriate.
Require to undergo firearm proficiency/self defense tactics and be able to operate a departmental cruiser safely during patrol.
Provide patrol personnel with the information concerning activities of patrol, work directives and sensitive information pertaining to criminal activity.10.
Qualify and utilize firearms provide emergency assistance, conduct investigations, report writing and presenting testimony in a court of law.

Highway patrol pilot example responsibilities.

Manage surveillance of DUI traffic offenders in Jacksonville
Secure federal funding through bidding process for cost-effective thermal imaging equipment used on helicopter for search and rescue and drug interdiction.
Manage surveillance of DUI traffic offenders in Jacksonville

State trooper vs highway patrol pilot skills

Common state trooper skills

Patrol, 30%
Public Safety, 12%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 10%
Criminal Law, 5%
Field Training, 4%
Traffic Control, 4%

Common highway patrol pilot skills

Patrol, 100%

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State Trooper
State Trooper vs Highway Patrol Pilot

Updated January 8, 2025

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