State trooper vs state patrol officer

The differences between state troopers and state patrol 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 $39,812 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 state patrol officer are patrol, field training, and background investigations.

State trooper vs state patrol officer overview

	State Trooper	State Patrol Officer
Yearly salary	$39,812	$42,229
Hourly rate	$19.14	$20.30
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	630	76,228
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

State trooper vs state patrol officer salary

State troopers and state patrol officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	State Trooper	State Patrol Officer
Average salary	$39,812	$42,229
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $50,000	Between $27,000 And $66,000
Highest paying City	Olympia, WA	Anchorage, AK
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Washington State University	Mayor Ethan Berkowitz
Best paying industry	Finance	-

Differences between state trooper and state patrol officer education

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

	State Trooper	State Patrol Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	Pennsylvania State University	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

State trooper vs state patrol officer demographics

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

	State Trooper	State Patrol Officer
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9%	Male, 66.4% Female, 33.6%
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, 11.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 3.3% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between state trooper and state patrol officer 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.

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.

State trooper vs state patrol officer skills

Common state trooper skills

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

Common state patrol officer skills

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

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State Trooper
State Trooper vs State Patrol Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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