Explore Jobs
Find Specific Jobs
Explore Careers
Explore Professions
Best Companies
Explore Companies
Job outlook for peace officers in the United States
Peace officer job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected peace officer job growth rate is 3% from 2018-2028.
About 20,600 new jobs for peace officers are projected over the next decade.
Peace officer salaries have increased 10% for peace officers in the last 5 years.
There are over 7,243 peace officers currently employed in the United States.
There are 118,690 active peace officer job openings in the US.
The average peace officer salary is $37,631.
Are peace officer jobs in demand?
Peace Officer job and salary trends over time
Peace Officer jobs over time
Peace Officer job growth rate over time
Year  | # Of Jobs | % Of Population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7,243 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 7,129 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 7,242 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 7,199 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 7,210 | 0.00% |
Average peace officer salary over time
Peace Officer salary by year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $37,631 | $18.09 | +3.8% |
| 2024 | $36,259 | $17.43 | +2.9% |
| 2023 | $35,243 | $16.94 | +0.5% |
| 2022 | $35,053 | $16.85 | +2.3% |
| 2021 | $34,267 | $16.47 | +2.3% |
Peace Officer jobs by state
Most common states for peace officers
| Rank | State | Population | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 307 | 18% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,171 | 17% |
| 3 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 962 | 17% |
| 4 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 125 | 17% |
| 5 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 171 | 16% |
| 6 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,218 | 14% |
| 7 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 186 | 14% |
| 8 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 245 | 13% |
| 9 | Vermont | 623,657 | 82 | 13% |
| 10 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 1,050 | 12% |
| 11 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 756 | 12% |
| 12 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 695 | 12% |
| 13 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 393 | 12% |
| 14 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 108 | 12% |
| 15 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 1,367 | 11% |
| 16 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 1,137 | 11% |
| 17 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 776 | 11% |
| 18 | Nevada | 2,998,039 | 330 | 11% |
| 19 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 230 | 11% |
| 20 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 144 | 11% |
Most common cities for peace officers
| Rank | City | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baytown | 3 | 4% | $37,332 |
| 2 | Friendswood | 1 | 3% | $37,345 |
| 3 | Santa Clara | 2 | 2% | $43,173 |
| 4 | Berkeley | 1 | 1% | $43,351 |
| 5 | Erie | 1 | 1% | $44,144 |
| 6 | Sugar Land | 1 | 1% | $37,383 |
| 7 | The Woodlands | 1 | 1% | $37,379 |
| 8 | Union City | 1 | 1% | $43,231 |
| 9 | Houston | 5 | 0% | $37,365 |
| 10 | Austin | 1 | 0% | $37,578 |
Peace Officer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of peace officer experts
University of Georgia
Governors State University
Murray State University
Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg
Georgia Southern University
Georgia Southern University
La Sierra University
Jill Myers
Director of the School of Law Enforcement and Justice AdministrationWhat general advice would you give to a Peace Officer?
Jill Myers: The more skill sets you have the better prepared you will be for future advancement and salary increases. Having a solid education, a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice and a masters degree will sometimes result in increased wages. Having federal certifications and competencies will enhance your opportunities and create potential marketability for your career. It is always a great skill set to have people skills, communication in both written and oral formats. It will enhance your ability to explain yourself in court, in the warrants one prepares, and with dealing with the public in all circumstances from victims and witnesses and suspects, to legislators, the funding sources like mayors and city council and the public at large.
What Peace Officer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jill Myers: Law Enforcement is a much needed and distinguished profession. Going into the field you need a thorough background in the criminal justice system, state and federal, a working knowledge of the laws and Constitutional dictates, and the ability to communicate well both verbally and in writing. The job requires the ability to not just talk the part, but to critically think and apply the skills learned in the classrooms with real people in real situations. You will need to start the job with the ability to be a hero, to respond to real events on perhaps the worst days of someone's life. The job requires knowledge, ethical conduct, and compassion for everyone, even those who have committed unlawful actions.
Dr. Latarcia Barnes PhD
Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology, Associate ProfessorWhat general advice would you give to a Peace Officer?
Dr. Latarcia Barnes PhD: Federal law enforcement is a great profession to enter. There is retirement after 20 years, great career advancement, and great benefits
What Peace Officer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Latarcia Barnes PhD: This question is difficult to answer because in federal law enforcement, there are different jobs a person can have. The underlying theme is to enforce the laws that the federal government has and to enforce the judgement of a federal judge.
What general advice would you give to a Peace Officer?
Todd Krohn: I think internship experience prior to applying maximizes your salary potential, as well as compiling a list of relevant volunteer experiences, and keeping a clean record. Every agency is going to run background checks, and increasingly many are running credit checks as well. A clean record going in definitely makes you a more marketable candidate.
What will help Peace Officers increase their earning potential?
Todd Krohn: I would definitely think about doing an internship before you graduate. For many students going into law enforcement or probation and parole, getting an internship while still in school could potentially lead to your first job offer. For those going into the legal world of prosecution or defense, internships in those worlds before law school will help you confirm those are the areas you want to study. Basically, any CJ graduate would benefit from doing an internship, dependent upon the area of the CJ system they are thinking about working in. While most of these are going to be unpaid in the CJ system, the benefits they carry later more than pay off the experience.
Dr. Janet Brewer
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice & SociologyGovernors State University
Criminal Justice And Corrections
What general advice would you give to a Peace Officer?
Dr. Janet Brewer: Market yourself as someone who can increase revenue or decrease workload for that entity. Use your school's alumni network to its fullest.
What Peace Officer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Alaina Steele: People go into the criminal justice field for many different reasons, so be proactive in making sure your employer will provide a suitable work environment and the right kinds of support/development for you to be the type of criminal justice professional you want to be. When applying for jobs, remember that you are interviewing agencies at the same time they are interviewing you. Ask questions that provide you with insight on the things you're looking for in an employer. If possible, talk to people who work or have worked there to find out what they love(d) about their job and colleagues and what they would change. Search online for what an agency's clients or the people who live in the communities they serve have to say about their experiences and recent encounters with the criminal justice professionals at that agency. Take the time to consider if what you find in your research is something that aligns with your personal values and career goals.
Jennifer Gibbs Ph.D.
Associate ProfessorPennsylvania State University - Harrisburg
School of Public Affairs, Criminal Justice Program
What skills stand out on Peace Officer resumes?
Jennifer Gibbs Ph.D.: Police officers need many skills to be successful on the job. The most important are written and oral communication skills and the ability to make ethical decisions with limited information quickly. Written communications skills are crucial. If a police report is poorly worded or incomplete, it can derail a criminal case. Police officers also need to talk to people of all ages from all walks of life in any circumstance. Often, police meet people on what may be the worst day of their lives when emotions are running high. Police need to be able to help calm a person while gathering information. Police need to be able to use their words and body language to empathize with someone who has been victimized, and they need to project authority, so people making poor decisions obey their commands.
This may be common sense, but research has demonstrated that communication and ethical decision-making skills are important for police officers. (See the research article published in 2017 in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education, entitled "An assessment of the relative importance of criminal justice learning objectives," by Baker and colleagues.) Baker and colleagues asked students, professionals, and college professors to rate the skills of hypothetical job applicants. These participants rated the following as the most important characteristics for criminal justice applicants (including law enforcement officers):
Ethics
Oral communication
Critical thinking
Sensitivity to diversity
Written communication skills
Logan Somers Ph.D.
Assistant ProfessorGeorgia Southern University
Criminal Justice and Criminology Department
What skills stand out on Peace Officer resumes?
Logan Somers Ph.D.: Skills and experiences that stand out on Law Enforcement Officer resumes are not too dissimilar from desirable qualities in other industries. First, even though the vast majority of police departments do not have an education requirement beyond high school, most recruits entering the academy do have at least some college experience. Therefore, having an associate's or bachelor's degree will make you competitive. Further, policing in today's society requires officers to be elite communicators, critical thinkers, and problem-solvers. Any prior work experience that can be used to demonstrate how you performed those skills under pressure should be highlighted. Lastly, any prior community service and or mentoring should be included. Having these experiences displays your commitment to improving your community and bettering the lives of those around you.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Peace Officers?
Logan Somers Ph.D.: A significant portion of an officer's day can often be spent filling out paperwork. Every stop, citation, warrant, arrest, or use of force incident typically requires forms that need to be filled out and sent to supervisors for review. This makes the ability to write proficiently and provide a descriptive narrative of events crucial for day-to-day police work.
Amanda Graham Ph.D.
Assistant ProfessorGeorgia Southern University
Criminal Justice & Criminology
What soft skills should all Peace Officers possess?
Amanda Graham Ph.D.: Verbal Communication - The ability to talk to/hold a conversation with a stranger is essential in the human enterprise of policing. It is one of the best tools and officer has with them to address any situation.
Ethical Decision-Making (Using Discretion Appropriately) - The ability to make the best decision in a given situation is absolutely critical in policing. Not only do officers need to have sound and logical judgment, but also the capacity to make ethically sound decisions helps to prevent the introduction of bias into the criminal justice system.
T.Christopher Bell
ProfessorLa Sierra University
Criminal Justice Program
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Peace Officers?
T.Christopher Bell: The enduring impact is that we now know we can work remotely. We can file reports online; we can conduct investigations, Background Investigations remotely, and expand our reach nationwide. Also, our hygiene has dramatically improved.