Protective Service Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Occupation-level safety SOC 33-3051

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

Occupation-specific BLS fatality and injury rates set the reading order for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers, then wages beside peers such as First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers, Parking Enforcement Workers, Fish and Game Wardens, Private Detectives and Investigators.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers: First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers ($78K) , Parking Enforcement Workers ($47K) , Fish and Game Wardens ($74K) , Private Detectives and Investigators ($51K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 33-3051 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Identify, pursue, and arrest suspects and perpetrators of criminal acts
  2. 2. Provide for public safety by maintaining order, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property, enforcing motor vehicle and cr…
  3. 3. Record facts to prepare reports that document incidents and activities
  4. 4. Render aid to accident survivors and other persons requiring first aid for physical injuries
  5. 5. Review facts of incidents to determine if criminal act or statute violations were involved
  6. 6. Investigate illegal or suspicious activities
  7. 7. Monitor, note, report, and investigate suspicious persons and situations, safety hazards, and unusual or illegal activity in patrol area
  8. 8. Testify in court to present evidence or act as witness in traffic and criminal cases
  9. 9. Process prisoners, and prepare and maintain records of prisoner bookings and prisoner status during booking and pre-trial process
  10. 10. Relay complaint and emergency-request information to appropriate agency dispatchers
  11. 11. Monitor traffic to ensure motorists observe traffic regulations and exhibit safe driving procedures
  12. 12. Drive vehicles or patrol specific areas to detect law violators, issue citations, and make arrests

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 33-3051 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Public Safety and Security. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.9
  2. 2. Speaking 3.9
  3. 3. Social Perceptiveness 3.9
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 3.8
  5. 5. Active Learning 3.8
  6. 6. Reading Comprehension 3.6
  7. 7. Coordination 3.6
  8. 8. Persuasion 3.6

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Public Safety and Security 4.8
  2. 2. Law and Government 4.8
  3. 3. English Language 4.3
  4. 4. Psychology 4.1
  5. 5. Customer and Personal Service 4.0
  6. 6. Education and Training 3.8
Occupation safety grade
C
Moderate Risk
Transparent derived index from BLS CFOI/SOII, not an official BLS rating · formula
National median still $76,210/yr
$76K
National median
↑ +3%
Growth 2024-2034
53,700
Annual openings
670,520
Estimated US jobs
First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers
Highest-pay peer · $78K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

1. New York $92,790
2. California $118,880
3. Alaska $99,130
4. Colorado $97,350
5. Illinois $100,520
6. Oregon $88,140
7. Washington $102,080
8. Delaware $92,970
9. New Jersey $92,610
10. District of Columbia $88,650

Other Protective Service Occupations titles

  1. 1. Fish and Game Wardens $74,060
  2. 2. Private Detectives and Investigators $51,220
  3. 3. First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers $77,970
  4. 4. Parking Enforcement Workers $46,730
  5. 5. Transportation Security Screeners $66,770
  6. 6. Firefighters $59,280

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers carries an occupation-specific WageDex safety grade of C from BLS CFOI/SOII rates. The national OEWS median is $76,210 inside Protective Service Occupations (SOC 33-3051).

Employment Projections expect +3% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 53,700 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements.

Highest published state median in this ranking: New York at $92,790. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers at $77,970. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers pay-rank #7 in Protective Service Occupations

Among 24 detailed Protective Service Occupations with a published OEWS median, Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers is pay-rank #7, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 33-3051 · national median $76,210 · upper third of Protective Service Occupations (#7/24). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 33-3051

New York · top state for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

$93K published median

California · #2 state pay

$119K · behind New York

First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers

Highest-pay peer vs Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers · $78K

Parking Enforcement Workers

Lower-pay peer beside Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers · $47K

Compare Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers with another occupation →

Safety and risk next reads

Safest Occupations

Roles with the strongest published safety grades

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers full wage map

State and metro pay after the safety lead

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Protective Service Occupations titles sit near Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers is pay-rank #7 of 24 detailed Protective Service Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: First-Line Supervisors of Protective Service Workers, All Other ($76K), Fire Inspectors and Investigators ($76K), First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers ($78K), Transit and Railroad Police ($90K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do police and sheriff's patrol officers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers. Leading ones include: Identify, pursue, and arrest suspects and perpetrators of criminal acts; Provide for public safety by maintaining order, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property, enforcing motor vehicle and cr…; Record facts to prepare reports that document incidents and activities; Render aid to accident survivors and other persons requiring first aid for physical injuries. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for police and sheriff's patrol officers? ▼
For SOC 33-3051, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.9), Speaking (3.9), Social Perceptiveness (3.9), Critical Thinking (3.8). Knowledge areas emphasize Public Safety and Security, Law and Government, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $76,210 as the national median for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers. The published 10th-90th range is $47,510 to $115,120. Beside First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers ($77,970), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers is +3%. Projected annual openings: about 53,700. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers? ▼
New York ($92,790), California ($118,880), Alaska ($99,130) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 33-3051. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics