Police officers

Detailed Occupation

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2022 Workforce

850k

Average Age

Average Salary

$79,876

Average Male Salary

$81,645

Average Female Salary

$69,231

About

Police officers are most often employed by the Justice, public order, & safety activities industry. The average yearly wage for Police officers was $79,876 in 2022.

The locations that employ the most Police officers are South Texas Development Council-Webb County (North & East)-Laredo City (Outer) PUMA, TX, Cochise & Santa Cruz Counties--Sierra Vista City PUMA, AZ, and Chicago City (Southwest)--Ashburn, Garfield Ridge, West Lawn, Clearing & West Elsdon PUMA, IL. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Police officers are South Texas Development Council-Webb County (North & East)-Laredo City (Outer) PUMA, TX, Cochise & Santa Cruz Counties--Sierra Vista City PUMA, AZ, and Yauco, Sabana Grande & Peñuelas PUMA, PR.

Photo by Highway Patrol Images

Service Occupations Protective service occupations

Employment and salary information for the Police officers workforce. Police officers workforce in 2022 was 849,915 people, of which 14.2% were women and 85.8% were men. Police officers are paid most in Butte County--Chico City PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in South Texas Development Council-Webb County (North & East)-Laredo City (Outer) PUMA, TX.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

728,823

Male Workforce

± 20.9k

121,092

Female Workforce

± 8.54k

The Police officers workforce in 2022 was 849,915 people (14.2% women and 85.8% men). This implies an average annual growth of 17.1% between 2014 (725,944) and 2022 (849,915).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Police officers.

During 2022, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were California ($105,487), Massachusetts ($104,213), and New Jersey ($103,761).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$79,876

AVERAGE WAGE

#136 in the ranking (2022)

$64,683

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2022, Police officers earned an average of $79,876, $15,194 more than the average national salary of $64,683

The graph shows the ranking of Police officers in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2022.

Wage Distribution

Gender

0.291

WAGE GINI

In 2022, Police officers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.291, which is lower than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Police officers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Police officers compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Police officers and on wages for those in the field. Justice, public order, & safety activities is the industry that employs the most Police officers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Police officers, by average wage, is Banking & related activities ($115,241).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

850k

2022 Workforce

± 22,571

1.68%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 3.71%

This graphic shows the share of Police officers employed by various industries. Justice, public order, & safety activities employs the largest share of Police officers at 94.2%, followed by National security & international affairs with 3.62% and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 2.14%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Police officers in the US. The workforce of Police officers in 2022 was 849,915 people, with 14.2% woman, and 85.8% men. The average age of male Police officers in the workforce is 40.2 and of female Police officers is 38.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Police officers is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Police officers in 2022 was 849,915 people, with 14.2% woman, and 85.8% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 30 to 34 years (127,098 people), 25 to 29 years (122,982 people), and 35 to 39 years (121,918 people). Among them they concentrated 43.8% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2022, 17.2% of Police officers workers were Hispanic and 82.8% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (64.7%), Puerto Rican (28.8)%, and Dominican (6.51)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2022, 70.9% of the Police officers workforce were White, of which 11.7% were women and 88.3% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Black (13.6%) and Two or More Races (8.28%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Police officers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Police officers is Protective Services but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2022 were Protective Services.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Police officers in 2022 (counting all academic degrees) were Protective Services (131,392 people), Business (47,525 people), and Social Sciences (37,520 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Police officers workers were Bachelors Degree (271,330 people), Some college (253,790 people), and Associates Degree (145,356 people).

The graphic shows the Police officers workforce by gender and educational level.