Traffic agent vs law enforcement officer

The differences between traffic agents and law enforcement officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a law enforcement officer has an average salary of $39,219, which is higher than the $34,741 average annual salary of a traffic agent.

The top three skills for a traffic agent include patrol, motor vehicle and summonses. The most important skills for a law enforcement officer are patrol, public safety, and emergency situations.

Traffic agent vs law enforcement officer overview

	Traffic Agent	Law Enforcement Officer
Yearly salary	$34,741	$39,219
Hourly rate	$16.70	$18.86
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	27,806	105,817
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Traffic agent vs law enforcement officer salary

Traffic agents and law enforcement officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Traffic Agent	Law Enforcement Officer
Average salary	$34,741	$39,219
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $55,000	Between $30,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	University of Nebraska System
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between traffic agent and law enforcement officer education

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

	Traffic Agent	Law Enforcement Officer
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Business	Criminal Justice
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	Pennsylvania State University

Traffic agent vs law enforcement officer demographics

Here are the differences between traffic agents' and law enforcement officers' demographics:

	Traffic Agent	Law Enforcement Officer
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6%	Male, 80.3% Female, 19.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 2.9% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	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 traffic agent and law enforcement officer duties and responsibilities

Traffic agent example responsibilities.

Lead team providing cargo, personal property and passenger movements for DoD personnel.
Attend special ceremonies for NYPD personal.
Represent the NYPD traffic division on a daily basis.
Create airway bills for walk-in, and process receivable payments.
Interact with pedestrians on a daily basis always using CPR.
Coordinate between mills and forwarders to endure delivery of orders worldwide.

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.

Traffic agent vs law enforcement officer skills

Common traffic agent skills

Patrol, 17%
Motor Vehicle, 15%
Summonses, 14%
Customer Service, 13%
Direct Traffic, 6%
Traffic Control, 4%

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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Traffic Agent
Traffic Agent vs Law Enforcement Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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