2021’s Best and Worst States for Police Officers
WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 30 key indicators of police-friendliness.
With police still enforcing some COVID-19 restrictions and former officer Derek Chauvin’s trial coming to a landmark conclusion, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021’s Best & Worst States to Be a Police Officer, as well as accompanying videos.
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 30 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.
Best States for Police Officers
- California
- Connecticut
- Maryland
- District of Columbia
- Ohio
- Illinois
- Colorado
- Washington
- Georgia
- Minnesota
Worst States for Police Officers
- Alabama
- South Carolina
- Mississippi
- Arkansas
- Alaska
- West Virginia
- Louisiana
- Kentucky
- Nevada
- 51. Hawaii
Best vs. Worst
- The District of Columbia has the most police and sheriff’s patrol officers per 100,000 residents, 793, which is 6.5 times more than in Washington, the fewest at 123.
- California has the highest median annual wage for police and sheriff’s patrol officers (adjusted for cost of living), $81,902, which is two times higher than in Mississippi, the lowest at $41,789.
- Rhode Island has the fewest individuals killed by police per 1,000,000 residents, 4, which is 13.3 times fewer than in Alaska, the most at 53.
- Maine has the fewest violent crimes per 1,000 residents, 1.15, which is 9.1 times fewer than in the District of Columbia, the most at 10.49.
- The District of Columbia has the highest state and local police-protection expenses per capita, $906.37, which is 4.6 times higher than in Kentucky, the lowest at $195.12.
To view the full report and your state’s rank, visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-to-be-a-cop/34669
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This could be one of the most ridiculous lists I’ve seen. For example, Maryland at #3, is seeing an exodus of police officers because of their legal climate. Their legislature recently repealed the state’s law enforcement officer’s bill of rights. Putting DC, which is the highest per capita violent crime rate in the top 10 because of their amount of spending is absurd. Walk around DC, and you’ll see more cops per square foot than almost anywhere….yet the highest violent crime rate while having the most cops per capita.
You’re seeing cops moving from these top states to other states for a reason. Life isn’t only about income and budgets