2020’s Best, Worst States to Be Police Officer

With many police departments hit hard by coronavirus and police shootings remaining a high-profile issue in the U.S., the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2020’s Best & Worst States to Be a Police Officer.

In order to determine the best states to pursue a career in law enforcement, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key indicators of police-friendliness. The data set ranges from the median income for law-enforcement officers to police deaths per 1,000 officers to state and local police-protection expenses per capita.

Life & Work for Cops in California (1=Best; 25=Avg.)

30th – Law-Enforcement Officers per Capita
6th – Median Income for Law-Enforcement Officers (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
26th – Median Income Growth for Law-Enforcement Officers
37th – Violent-Crime Rate
30th – % of Homicide Cases Solved
4th – State & Local Police-Protection Expenses per Capita
18th – Police Deaths per 1,000 Officers

Note: “Law-enforcement officers” includes police and sheriff’s patrol officers, detectives and criminal investigators.

Currently, the nation’s 800,000 law enforcement officers have even more of a spotlight than usual, as they balance enforcing coronavirus lockdowns with performing their normal duties, according to Adam McCann, a financial writer for WalletHub. Officers also have a much higher risk of coming into contact with COVID-19 than the general population – one in six New York City police officers is out sick or in quarantine, for example.

Even when the U.S. isn’t in the middle of a pandemic, being a police officer is significantly more dangerous than many other occupations, according to McCann. Because of such risks, law-enforcement agencies must offer enough incentives to attract and retain officers. To start, there’s a $65,170 mean annual wage and typically a generous benefits package which can include retirement-contribution matches, tuition assistance, ample leave time, a take-home vehicle, and access to health and fitness facilities.