Police Officer salary

Q: What state pays Police Officers the most?

Alaska pays Police Officers the most in the United States, with an average salary of $78,839 per year, or $37.90 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a Police Officer?

You know if you are being paid fairly as a Police Officer if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Washington you should be paid close to $73,316 per year.

Q: How many vacation days do police get?

The number of vacation days police officers get can vary greatly, but on average, they receive between 10 to 15 days of vacation annually. Typically, the number given is based on years of service and the specific policies of the department.

Q: What is a good starting salary for a Police Officer?

A good starting salary for a police officer is $35,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a police officer in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for police officers is $48,353, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a police officer can vary by state.

Q: Do police officers get paid well?

Yes, police officers can get paid well. On average, they make $47,000 yearly (about $3,997 monthly or $23 hourly). As most jobs go, factors like location and experience can determine your exact pay. On the lower end of the salary range, they can make about $35,000, typically for entry-level positions or low-paying states like Kansas and Missouri. On the higher end, they can earn more than $64,000.

Q: What is the highest-paid law enforcement job?

The highest-paid law enforcement job is a judge. Judges in the United States have an average salary of $170,000 per year. Other law enforcement positions with high average annual salaries include:

Average police officer salary

$52,638

$25.31 hourly rate

Entry-level police officer salary

$38,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a police officer make?

The average police officer salary in the United States is $52,638. Police officer salaries typically range between $38,000 and $71,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for police officers is $25.31 per hour.

Police officer salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Police officers earn the highest average salary in Alaska.

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Police officer salary by:

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Where can a Police Officer earn more?

Compare salary by location

92k

72k

52k

32k

12k

Alaska$78,724

Richmond, VA$42,223

Compare salary by company

99k

79k

59k

39k

Icma-rc$87,848

City of Sunny Isles Beach$69,041

Police Officer Salaries By Experience Level

Experience Level	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
Entry-level police officer	$41,500	$19.96
Mid-level police officer	$54,900	$26.40
Senior-level police officer	$66,800	$32.09

Police Officer salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, SalaryExpert, Comparably, Payscale and CareerExplorer, the average salary for a police officer typically falls between $31,965 and $89,701.

zippia

$52,638yearly

glassdoor[1]

$67,564yearly

indeed[2]

$31,965yearly

comparably[3]

$89,701yearly

Salary.com[4]

$63,800yearly

ZipRecruiter[5]

$68,000yearly

payscale[6]

$60,719yearly

SalaryExpert[7]

$53,141yearly

CareerExplorer[8]

$64,610yearly

Average police officer salary by state

Highest paying states for police officers

Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
1	California	$67,408	$32.41
2	Washington	$73,316	$35.25
3	Oregon	$70,488	$33.89
4	Nevada	$56,042	$26.94
5	Colorado	$61,400	$29.52
6	Minnesota	$59,433	$28.57
7	North Dakota	$62,265	$29.94
8	Alaska	$78,839	$37.90
9	Vermont	$60,112	$28.90
10	New York	$55,639	$26.75
11	Connecticut	$60,266	$28.97
12	Massachusetts	$56,693	$27.26
13	Ohio	$50,537	$24.30
14	Rhode Island	$52,850	$25.41
15	Maryland	$56,143	$26.99
16	Illinois	$56,211	$27.02
17	New Jersey	$55,401	$26.64
18	Wisconsin	$51,430	$24.73
19	Nebraska	$49,726	$23.91
20	Idaho	$49,067	$23.59
21	Pennsylvania	$48,782	$23.45
22	Arizona	$50,130	$24.10
23	Wyoming	$54,894	$26.39
24	Michigan	$50,274	$24.17
25	District of Columbia	$60,393	$29.04
26	New Hampshire	$50,646	$24.35
27	Iowa	$50,441	$24.25
28	Missouri	$43,930	$21.12
29	Utah	$49,292	$23.70
30	Montana	$50,478	$24.27
31	Texas	$48,083	$23.12
32	Delaware	$50,191	$24.13
33	Virginia	$42,314	$20.34
34	Kentucky	$37,638	$18.10
35	New Mexico	$42,590	$20.48
36	Indiana	$43,189	$20.76
37	South Dakota	$45,256	$21.76
38	Oklahoma	$36,849	$17.72
39	Maine	$41,492	$19.95
40	Hawaii	$40,510	$19.48
41	West Virginia	$42,308	$20.34
42	Florida	$43,231	$20.78
43	Tennessee	$36,744	$17.67
44	Georgia	$35,626	$17.13
45	Kansas	$39,151	$18.82
46	Mississippi	$30,822	$14.82
47	North Carolina	$36,157	$17.38
48	Arkansas	$31,955	$15.36
49	Louisiana	$33,047	$15.89
50	South Carolina	$33,558	$16.13
51	Alabama	$31,858	$15.32

Top police officer jobs near you

Highest paying cities for police officers

The highest-paying cities for police officers are Anchorage, AK, Bellingham, WA, and Richmond, CA.

Rank	City	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
1	Anchorage, AK	$78,724	$37.85
2	Bellingham, WA	$74,409	$35.77
3	Richmond, CA	$73,569	$35.37
4	Eugene, OR	$70,639	$33.96
5	Boulder, CO	$61,857	$29.74
6	Washington, DC	$60,406	$29.04
7	Minneapolis, MN	$59,394	$28.55
8	Boston, MA	$56,736	$27.28
9	Baltimore, MD	$56,506	$27.17
10	Chicago, IL	$56,366	$27.10
11	Las Vegas, NV	$55,281	$26.58
12	Yuma, AZ	$51,096	$24.57
13	Ann Arbor, MI	$50,015	$24.05
14	Salt Lake City, UT	$49,427	$23.76
15	Fort Worth, TX	$47,886	$23.02
16	Pittsburgh, PA	$47,555	$22.86
17	Kansas City, MO	$44,501	$21.39
18	Boynton Beach, FL	$42,936	$20.64
19	Albuquerque, NM	$42,834	$20.59
20	Richmond, VA	$42,223	$20.30

Police Officers are the most in-demand in these five cities:

Police Officer salary details

A police officer's salary ranges from $38,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $71,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Police Officer Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a police officer's salary?

Percentile	Annual Salary	Monthly Salary	Hourly Rate
90th Percentile	$71,000	$5,917	$34
75th Percentile	$61,000	$5,083	$29
Average	$52,638	$4,387	$25
25th Percentile	$44,000	$3,667	$21
10th Percentile	$38,000	$3,167	$18

Highest paying police officer jobs

The highest paying types of police officers are police sergeant, detective, and criminal investigator.

Job Title	Annual Salary	Monthly Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
Deputy	$53,682	$4,473	$25.81	56,150
Criminal Investigator	$54,520	$4,543	$26.21	5,131
Loss Prevention Analyst	$38,684	$3,224	$18.60	62,658
Loss Prevention Agent	$36,455	$3,038	$17.53	103,534
Detective	$57,984	$4,832	$27.88	56,521
Deputy Sheriff	$50,143	$4,179	$24.11	65,303

Top companies hiring police officers now:

Which companies pay police officers the most?

Police officer salaries at Icma-rc and The Midland Group are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average police officer salary at companies like University of California, Berkeley and University of Alaska are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate
1	Icma-rc	$87,848	$42.23
2	The Midland Group	$76,892	$36.97
3	University of California-Berkeley	$70,970	$34.12
4	University of Alaska	$69,960	$33.63
5	City of Benicia	$69,952	$33.63
6	1 8 3 Lanes	$69,925	$33.62
7	Ontario City Library	$69,885	$33.60
8	City of Largo	$69,867	$33.59
9	City of Downey	$69,845	$33.58
10	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	$69,689	$33.50
11	City of Coronado	$69,672	$33.50
12	City of Riverside	$69,594	$33.46
13	City of Mountain View	$69,536	$33.43
14	City of Pleasanton	$69,467	$33.40
15	Sandia Resort & Casino	$69,385	$33.36
16	City Of San Mateo	$69,355	$33.34
17	City of Bellaire	$69,249	$33.29
18	City of Scottsdale	$69,246	$33.29
19	City of Roseville Michigan	$69,150	$33.25
20	City of Sunny Isles Beach	$69,041	$33.19

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$55,000$54,200$53,400$52,600$51,800$51,000

MaleFemale

Police Officer salary trends

The average police officer salary has risen by $9,084 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average police officer earned $43,554 annually, but today, they earn $52,638 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for police officers over the last decade.

Compare police officer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average police officer salary over time

Compare police officer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

National Average

Police Officer salary by year

Year	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	% Change
2025	$52,600	$25.31	+3.6%
2024	$50,700	$24.38	+2.8%
2023	$49,300	$23.70	+0.5%
2022	$49,000	$23.57	+2.2%
2021	$47,900	$23.04	+2.3%

Recently added police officer salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date Added	Salary
Nicholls State University	Police Officer 2	Thibodaux, LA	12/18/2024	$41,350
City of Dothan, Al	Police Officer (Uncertified)	Dothan, AL	12/18/2024	$54,338
City of Saint Paul, Mn	Police Officer (Lateral Transfers)	Saint Paul, MN	12/18/2024	$80,309
City of Benton (Ar	Police Officer	Benton, AR	12/18/2024	$51,000
City of Stockton, Ca	Police Officer Recruit (Currently Attending Academy)	Stockton, CA	12/17/2024	$71,769
University of Memphis	Police Officer III	Jackson, TN	12/17/2024	$51,758
Glendale Community College	Police Officer Trainee	Glendale, CA	12/17/2024	$55,828
Districtheights	Police Officer	District Heights, MD	12/17/2024	$60,000
City of Polson	Police Officer	Polson, MT	12/17/2024	$53,323
Livingston	Police Officer Lateral-To Establish Eligibility List	Livingston, CA	12/16/2024	$54,976