Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011

33-3051 Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

Maintain order and protect life and property by enforcing local, tribal, State, or Federal laws and ordinances. Perform a combination of the following duties: patrol a specific area; direct traffic; issue traffic summonses; investigate accidents; apprehend and arrest suspects, or serve legal processes of courts.


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
636,410 0.6 % $27.05 $56,260 0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $15.42 $19.77 $26.07 $33.65 $40.85
Annual Wage (2) $32,080 $41,110 $54,230 $69,990 $84,980


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government (OES Designation) 542,060 9.81 $27.00 $56,160
State Government (OES Designation) 63,030 2.77 $29.16 $60,650
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 12,590 0.61 $24.85 $51,690
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 12,350 0.43 $22.83 $47,480
Junior Colleges 1,980 0.25 $21.14 $43,960

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government (OES Designation) 542,060 9.81 $27.00 $56,160
State Government (OES Designation) 63,030 2.77 $29.16 $60,650
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 12,590 0.61 $24.85 $51,690
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 12,350 0.43 $22.83 $47,480
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals 740 0.32 $25.03 $52,070

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
State Government (OES Designation) 63,030 2.77 $29.16 $60,650
Local Government (OES Designation) 542,060 9.81 $27.00 $56,160
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals 190 0.09 $25.95 $53,970
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 1,120 0.02 $25.87 $53,810
Postal Service 510 0.08 $25.48 $53,000


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 73,550 5.24 1.06 $37.88 $78,790
Texas 54,920 5.33 1.07 $24.51 $50,990
New York 54,420 6.46 1.30 $30.20 $62,820
Florida 35,370 4.95 1.00 $27.06 $56,290
Illinois 29,510 5.29 1.07 $31.61 $65,750




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 5,230 8.10 1.63 $32.52 $67,650
New York 54,420 6.46 1.30 $30.20 $62,820
Mississippi 6,930 6.46 1.30 $14.94 $31,060
Alabama 11,370 6.28 1.27 $19.23 $39,990
Maryland 14,690 5.92 1.19 $27.16 $56,500




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New Jersey 21,710 5.76 1.16 $39.41 $81,970
California 73,550 5.24 1.06 $37.88 $78,790
District of Columbia 5,230 8.10 1.63 $32.52 $67,650
Alaska 1,160 3.71 0.75 $32.41 $67,400
Nevada 4,640 4.17 0.84 $32.01 $66,580





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 22,280 5.83 1.17 $41.16 $85,620
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 19,900 5.55 1.12 $34.93 $72,660
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 14,340 5.62 1.13 $26.07 $54,230
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 13,340 5.77 1.16 $31.00 $64,480
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division 11,270 6.21 1.25 $28.75 $59,790
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 9,680 4.35 0.88 $21.37 $44,450
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 8,860 4.33 0.87 $27.73 $57,670
Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 8,320 4.90 0.99 $30.03 $62,460
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 7,320 4.37 0.88 $27.36 $56,910
St. Louis, MO-IL 6,420 5.05 1.02 $23.46 $48,800




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Ocean City, NJ 430 11.98 2.41 $35.24 $73,300
Hinesville-Fort Stewart, GA 160 8.97 1.81 $18.85 $39,220
San Angelo, TX 370 8.62 1.74 $24.09 $50,110
Prescott, AZ 430 8.27 1.67 $27.70 $57,620
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 1,020 8.19 1.65 $19.73 $41,040
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 1,070 8.00 1.61 $38.71 $80,510
Trenton-Ewing, NJ 1,710 7.89 1.59 $37.85 $78,730
Auburn-Opelika, AL 360 7.63 1.54 $20.26 $42,150
Merced, CA 440 7.56 1.52 $33.24 $69,150
Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA NECTA Division 640 7.46 1.50 $27.77 $57,750




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 5,090 5.81 1.17 $46.17 $96,030
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division 3,600 3.78 0.76 $42.43 $88,260
Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 4,550 3.28 0.66 $41.74 $86,820
Edison-New Brunswick, NJ Metropolitan Division 4,630 4.82 0.97 $41.35 $86,000
Nassau-Suffolk, NY Metropolitan Division 5,340 4.42 0.89 $41.20 $85,710
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 22,280 5.83 1.17 $41.16 $85,620
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 340 4.05 0.82 $40.85 $84,960
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA (8) (8) (8) $40.32 $83,870
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 1,070 8.00 1.61 $38.71 $80,510
Newark-Union, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division 5,620 5.92 1.19 $38.59 $80,260

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 2,000 5.25 1.06 $17.26 $35,910
Northwestern Texas nonmetropolitan area 1,940 7.84 1.58 $17.67 $36,760
Other North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,580 5.40 1.09 $18.06 $37,560
Eastern Texas nonmetropolitan area 1,540 5.55 1.12 $18.72 $38,950
East Central Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area 1,480 6.33 1.28 $24.24 $50,410

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 720 11.88 2.40 $26.19 $54,470
Eastern Sierra Region of California nonmetropolitan area 160 11.38 2.29 $33.75 $70,210
Southern Texas nonmetropolitan area 940 11.04 2.23 $16.57 $34,460
Natchitoches nonmetropolitan area 870 10.81 2.18 $13.84 $28,780
Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard nonmetropolitan area 150 10.53 2.12 $26.71 $55,550

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Eastern Sierra Region of California nonmetropolitan area 160 11.38 2.29 $33.75 $70,210
Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 400 9.92 2.00 $33.72 $70,130
Railbelt / Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area 350 4.91 0.99 $32.42 $67,430
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area 530 5.67 1.14 $31.26 $65,010
North Valley Region of California nonmetropolitan area 210 7.46 1.50 $31.24 $64,990


About May 2011 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2011 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2011 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped XLS files

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 27, 2012