Best and Worst Places to Be a Cop

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Best and Worst Places to Be a Cop

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Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers are the third most in-demand profession in the Homeland Security sector. There is projected need for 265,000 officers by the end of 2014; but that is not to say that some states have a higher need than others. The following is a guide to help you navigate, state by state, the law enforcement employment gauntlet.

Top 10 Best Paying Police Jobs By State

(These stats are based off of mean salaries ending in the year 2006)

State

Wage

1.

New Jersey

$33.88

2.

California

$33.12

3.

Illinois

$28.81

4.

Washington

$28.48

5.

Nevada

$27.74

6.

Alaska

$26.98

7.

Connecticut

$26.72

8.

Pennsylvania

$25.76

9.

Colorado

$25.57

10.

Oregon

$24.76

States not reporting: New York and District of Columbia

Top 10 Worst Paying Police Jobs by State

(These stats are based off of mean salaries ending in the year 2006)

State

Wage

1.

Mississippi

$13.59

2.

Arkansas

$13.67

3.

Louisiana

$13.75

4.

Oklahoma

$13.88

5.

Tennessee

$15.26

6.

Missouri

$15.39

7.

West Virginia

$15.44

8.

Vermont

$15.64

9.

Alabama

$15.80

10.

South Dakota

$16.07

States not reporting: New York and District of Colombia

Top 10 States By Highest Expected Police Job Growth (between 2006 – 2016)

(These stats are based off of job growth expectations ending in the year 2006)

State

# of New Jobs

1.

California

12,700

2.

Florida

7,450

3.

Georgia

3,530

4.

Arizona

2,840

5.

New York

2,820

6.

North Carolina

2,720

7.

Colorado

2,280

8.

Tennessee

2,280

9.

Ohio

2,240

10.

Missouri

2,070

States not reporting: Kansas, Texas, Virginia, District of Colombia

Top 10 States By Lowest Expected Police Job Growth (between 2006 – 2016)

(These stats are based off of job growth expectations ending in the year 2006)

State

# of New Jobs

1.

North Dakota

80

2.

Rhode Island

120

3.

South Dakota

120

4.

Alaska

160

5.

Wyoming

160

6.

Hawaii

220

7.

West Virginia

220

8.

Vermont

230

9.

Maine

320

10.

Delaware

340

States not reporting: Kansas, Texas, Virginia, District of Colombia

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections; the Labor Market Information Office within the State Employment Security Agency

Note: The data for the State Trends and the National Trends tables are not directly comparable. The employment projections period for State Trends is 2004-2014, while the period for National Trends is 2006-2016.

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justsisdad

6 days ago

4 comments

For all of you interested, AND, young enough to do it, don't forget about the federal law enforcement jobs. Different federal agencies have uniformed LEO positions, and the pay is good. If you create and stick to a BUDGET! you can handle living just about anywhere. Alot of agencies WILL look at your credit history and how you handle your finances
tcabezuela

6 days ago

31 comments

Wow it makes you wonder WHY they have to pay so much? ;)
classact

10 days ago

3 comments

i want to do it so i hope federal way washington takes me i grew up tjhere and it least 17 years in the city under me if i dont know about it it may not be true...
olympianfootball73

14 days ago

1 comment

im in l.a. but sherrifs didnt hire me for poor work history
Anthonyk

14 days ago

5 comments

sweet, i live in cali and they have the best wages guess ill stick around..hmm san fransisco maby?
apoloss

19 days ago

1 comment

How about the Maryland state? How's the service there?
PETE114

21 days ago

65 comments

Remember the cost of living in the State where you are working or applying for. Food, housing, gas does not cost the same in California, New York, Houston or Chicago and the salaries may be good or bad for that area.
mikeyakouba

23 days ago

25 comments

there was this one detective who worked for CCSO in washington and he ended up making 100 K per year. But he was like never at home and worked all the overtime humanly possible...
cptgulliver

27 days ago

2 comments

It that a per hour rate?
joey4094

29 days ago

1 comment

Listen up aspiring younglings. I am a convicted felon. Wisconsin has the best law eforcement in the United State they were able to catch me 90% of the time. I am glad they did too. I would not be able to tell you this if it had not been for them.
brownpau

about 1 month ago

32 comments

Well there goes my plans of running off to Tennessee.
maddog86

about 1 month ago

1 comment

so where us Virigina in all of this? Virginia isnt even on any of these lists?
Lopezjp1

about 1 month ago

102 comments

Bottom Line- You're not going to get rich being a cop, so you have to like to do it where ever you decide to go. We need good people everywhere. Gook luck to all who are applying or moving.
biglou512

about 1 month ago

240 comments

here n hays county our sheriff talked 2 d commissioners court this week about gettin our deputies a raise.of d surroundin cities and counties we r d second lowest paid.lets just d court didn't approve it.
rhallpiper

about 1 month ago

9 comments

I used to live in Cali, now a cop in IL. Remember, with high wages comes high cost of living. Even with the decline in the economy you can't touch a 3 bedroom house around here for under $250,000.

« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 Next »

	State	Wage
1.	New Jersey	$33.88
2.	California	$33.12
3.	Illinois	$28.81
4.	Washington	$28.48
5.	Nevada	$27.74
6.	Alaska	$26.98
7.	Connecticut	$26.72
8.	Pennsylvania	$25.76
9.	Colorado	$25.57
10.	Oregon	$24.76

	State	Wage
1.	Mississippi	$13.59
2.	Arkansas	$13.67
3.	Louisiana	$13.75
4.	Oklahoma	$13.88
5.	Tennessee	$15.26
6.	Missouri	$15.39
7.	West Virginia	$15.44
8.	Vermont	$15.64
9.	Alabama	$15.80
10.	South Dakota	$16.07

	State	# of New Jobs
1.	California	12,700
2.	Florida	7,450
3.	Georgia	3,530
4.	Arizona	2,840
5.	New York	2,820
6.	North Carolina	2,720
7.	Colorado	2,280
8.	Tennessee	2,280
9.	Ohio	2,240
10.	Missouri	2,070

	State	# of New Jobs
1.	North Dakota	80
2.	Rhode Island	120
3.	South Dakota	120
4.	Alaska	160
5.	Wyoming	160
6.	Hawaii	220
7.	West Virginia	220
8.	Vermont	230
9.	Maine	320
10.	Delaware	340

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