Police pay is set locally. There are thousands of city, county and state agencies, each with its own pay scale, so the same job can pay more than twice as much in one state as in another. The BLS figures below are the best national measure: they count what officers were actually paid in May 2025 across all those agencies.

How much do police officers make?

BLS counted 670,520 police and sheriff's patrol officer jobs in May 2025. Their pay spread:

Measure (May 2025) Annual Hourly
Lowest 10% earned less than $47,510 $22.84
25th percentile $59,290
Median $76,210 $36.64
Average (mean) $79,200 $38.08
75th percentile $97,600
Top 10% earned more than $115,120 $55.35

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, occupation 33-3051, from the BLS national data file downloaded October 25, 2026.

BLS measures straight-time pay, before overtime. Officers often earn a lot of overtime, so their total take-home pay can be well above these figures, but no national source tracks it.

Police salary by rank and related jobs

Job (BLS title) Jobs Median, May 2025 Average
First-line supervisors of police and detectives (sergeants and lieutenants) 154,610 $106,040 $112,190
Detectives and criminal investigators 114,430 $93,790 $99,430
Transit and railroad police 4,390 $90,230 $91,810
Police and sheriff's patrol officers 670,520 $76,210 $79,200
Fish and game wardens 5,770 $74,060 $74,950
Transportation security screeners (TSA) 50,290 $66,770 $64,310
Correctional officers and jailers 380,500 $58,940 $63,630
Bailiffs 17,310 $56,600 $61,660

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, national estimates.

Promotion pays. The median police supervisor earned about $30,000 more than the median patrol officer in May 2025, and the median detective about $17,600 more. BLS does not split out chiefs and captains; most fall into supervisors or into general management titles.

Police officer salary by state

BLS WAGE DATA · MAY 2025

Police officer salary by state

Median annual wage and number of police and sheriff’s patrol officer jobs in each state, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national median is $76,210.

Color the map by
Alabama: $51,270 medianALAlaska: $99,130 medianAKArizona: $78,880 medianAZArkansas: $47,670 medianARCalifornia: $118,880 medianCAColorado: $97,350 medianCOConnecticut: $82,170 medianDelaware: $92,970 medianFlorida: $74,470 medianFLGeorgia: $58,120 medianGAHawaii: $83,820 medianHIIdaho: $66,990 medianIDIllinois: $100,520 medianILIndiana: $73,370 medianINIowa: $74,470 medianIAKansas: $59,230 medianKSKentucky: $60,490 medianKYLouisiana: $48,380 medianLAMaine: $67,050 medianMEMaryland: $77,970 medianMassachusetts: $78,940 medianMichigan: $73,730 medianMIMinnesota: $83,360 medianMNMississippi: $46,140 medianMSMissouri: $59,460 medianMOMontana: $70,050 medianMTNebraska: $74,620 medianNENevada: $78,140 medianNVNew Hampshire: $71,640 medianNHNew Jersey: $92,610 medianNew Mexico: $69,180 medianNMNew York: $92,790 medianNYNorth Carolina: $59,300 medianNCNorth Dakota: $74,500 medianNDOhio: $77,020 medianOHOklahoma: $59,700 medianOKOregon: $88,140 medianORPennsylvania: $85,470 medianPARhode Island: $77,230 medianSouth Carolina: $58,070 medianSCSouth Dakota: $60,740 medianSDTennessee: $59,280 medianTNTexas: $75,900 medianTXUtah: $77,310 medianUTVermont: $68,910 medianVTVirginia: $65,870 medianVAWashington: $102,080 medianWAWashington, D.C.: $88,650 medianWest Virginia: $56,960 medianWVWisconsin: $78,090 medianWIWyoming: $66,140 medianWY
Small states
Under $55K$55K to $65K$65K to $75K$75K to $85K$85K+No BLS estimate
CALIFORNIA · MAY 2025$118,880median annual wage, #1 of 51 with a figure
THE DETAIL$112,980 average · 65,940 jobsBureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS

Click or tap a state, or use Tab and Enter. These are wages paid in May 2025 to police and sheriff’s patrol officers, BLS occupation 33-3051, across city, county and state agencies. BLS counts straight-time pay, so overtime is not included.

All 51 state figures
Police and sheriff's patrol officer pay by state, May 2025
StateMedianAverageJobs
$118,880$112,98065,940
$102,080$104,1409,160
$100,520$92,45029,180
$99,130$101,7701,260
$97,350$90,5509,610
$92,970$93,2101,800
$92,790$87,11053,470
$92,610$93,70021,780
$88,650$92,3904,720
$88,140$87,9905,030
$85,470$81,91026,510
$83,820$90,3602,420
$83,360$85,1309,160
$82,170$83,9206,500
$78,940$83,23017,040
$78,880$81,72012,010
$78,140$86,4705,720
$78,090$76,56012,320
$77,970$82,4009,720
$77,310$78,7605,500
$77,230$78,7601,940
$77,020$76,73023,430
$75,900$76,16063,100
$74,620$75,2903,490
$74,500$72,4001,630
$74,470$75,32043,630
$74,470$76,2805,130
$73,730$70,31016,750
$73,370$75,13012,980
$71,640$70,6302,460
$70,050$69,5402,160
$69,180$66,7004,580
$68,910$70,5601,020
$67,050$69,8302,120
$66,990$70,8602,810
$66,140$67,0801,310
$65,870$70,45019,970
$60,740$64,3202,000
$60,490$59,8407,890
$59,700$63,1209,660
$59,460$62,52013,570
$59,300$61,39022,370
$59,280$61,83015,630
$59,230$61,4506,130
$58,120$58,52022,170
$58,070$60,42012,930
$56,960$55,9002,900
$51,270$55,13011,710
$48,380$51,25012,400
$47,670$49,8505,710
$46,140$47,0108,070

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, occupation 33-3051, from the BLS state data file downloaded October 25, 2026. Boundaries: US Census via us-atlas.

The 10 states with the highest median pay in May 2025:

State Median wage, May 2025 Officer jobs
California $118,880 65,940
Washington $102,080 9,160
Illinois $100,520 29,180
Alaska $99,130 1,260
Colorado $97,350 9,610
Delaware $92,970 1,800
New York $92,790 53,470
New Jersey $92,610 21,780
Oregon $88,140 5,030
Pennsylvania $85,470 26,510

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025. The District of Columbia, at $88,650, would rank between New Jersey and Oregon.

The lowest state medians were Mississippi ($46,140), Arkansas ($47,670), Louisiana ($48,380), Alabama ($51,270) and West Virginia ($56,960). A California officer at the median earned about 2.6 times as much as one in Mississippi.

The biggest police workforces are in California (65,940 officers), Texas (63,100), New York (53,470) and Florida (43,630). Texas, with the second-largest force, pays a median of $75,900, just under the national figure.

Highest-paying metro areas for police officers

Metro area Median wage, May 2025 Officer jobs
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $136,140 2,590
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $132,000 7,990
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA $121,980 24,720
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA $115,120 4,520
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA $111,460 5,420
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA $110,400 4,950
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN $107,810 22,680
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ $105,540 54,270
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO $101,970 4,990
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA $101,870 6,010

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan areas with at least 2,500 officer jobs. Some smaller California metros pay more; Vallejo's median was $129,900 for 690 jobs.

Big metros in the South pay much less. The median was $74,570 in Houston, $63,190 in Charlotte and $60,910 in Atlanta, all below the national median.

Police officer starting salary

BLS does not publish starting pay. The closest it comes is the bottom of the range: the lowest-paid 10% of officers earned under $47,510 in May 2025. Big city departments publish their own scales:

Department Starting salary Top of scale Source and date
Los Angeles (LAPD) $93,730 or $97,363, depending on track $127,660 City of Los Angeles job posting, revised July 31, 2026
New York City (NYPD) $55,942 $109,352 after five and a half years NYC civil service exam notice, amended January 14, 2026

The two biggest departments show how wide the gap is. An LAPD recruit starts about $38,000 a year above an NYPD recruit, though NYPD pay rises steeply with service and both cities add overtime, holiday pay and allowances on top.

How I checked these numbers

Every state, metro and national figure comes from the BLS May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data files, which I downloaded on October 25, 2026. They cover BLS occupation 33-3051, police and sheriff's patrol officers, and count straight-time pay without overtime. Department starting salaries come from the cities' own job postings, dated above.

Related reading

Sources & methodology

Observations retain their source, period and definition. Uncertainty is preserved; missing values are not zero.

  1. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: national, state and metropolitan area data files (BLS) ↗

    BLS

    Accessed 2026-10-25.

  2. OEWS frequently asked questions: what wages include (BLS) ↗

    BLS

    Accessed 2026-10-25.

  3. Notice of Examination: Police Officer, Exam Nos. 6314 to 6323, amended January 14, 2026 (NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services) ↗

    NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services · 2026-01-14T00:00:00.000Z

  4. Police Officer 2214, revised July 31, 2026 (City of Los Angeles) ↗

    City of Los Angeles · 2026-07-31T00:00:00.000Z

  5. Salary and Benefits (Join LAPD) ↗

    Join LAPD

    Accessed 2026-10-25.