MAP MONDAY: Best & Worst States for Police Officers • The Georgia Virtue

When considering police pay across the country, there’s a $66,020 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. In Georgia, however, those numbers are substantially lower.

But pay isn’t the only thing drawing officers to any given agency. Research shows that officer pay is not only a reflection of the work environment but that officers are simultaneously more likely to be attracted to agencies with less scandal and more transparency.

In order to evaluate the environments for officers overall, financial literacy website WalletHub recently evaluated the best and worst states to be a police officer, based on a number of factors.

Source: WalletHub

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 to Be a Cop

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Opportunity & Competition	Law Enforcement Training Requirements	Job Hazards & Protections
1	California	62.30	3	2	16
2	District of Columbia	61.13	1	3	47
3	Connecticut	58.48	37	1	6
4	Maryland	58.06	19	7	5
5	Illinois	57.27	18	6	9
6	Ohio	56.15	12	5	23
7	Colorado	53.69	6	8	33
8	Washington	52.56	14	13	14
9	New York	51.58	2	40	2
10	Massachusetts	51.44	23	12	15
11	Minnesota	51.42	13	18	10
12	Tennessee	49.45	27	4	41
13	Texas	48.72	7	11	42
14	Pennsylvania	47.46	11	26	18
15	Maine	47.14	46	17	4
16	Georgia	46.56	38	10	28
17	Michigan	46.36	15	23	26
18	Delaware	45.55	24	24	21
19	Virginia	45.35	17	28	17
20	Indiana	45.21	36	14	29
21	South Dakota	45.10	31	9	45
22	Rhode Island	44.43	49	21	11
23	Missouri	44.39	22	19	34
24	Florida	44.16	8	42	12
25	Utah	43.59	43	25	8
26	New Jersey	42.93	25	39	7
27	Idaho	42.87	34	20	31
28	North Carolina	42.80	21	27	24
29	Vermont	42.69	35	38	3
30	Nebraska	42.17	10	46	13
31	Iowa	41.59	29	30	19
32	Oklahoma	41.19	39	15	46
33	New Mexico	40.77	4	16	51
34	Wyoming	40.67	32	22	38
35	New Hampshire	40.40	45	44	1
36	North Dakota	40.36	9	49	20
37	Arizona	39.57	20	32	30
38	Wisconsin	39.44	41	31	22
39	Montana	38.23	16	35	36
40	Hawaii	35.15	5	51	27
41	Kansas	34.89	44	34	32
42	Oregon	34.22	47	41	25
43	South Carolina	33.95	42	33	44
44	Louisiana	33.55	30	43	40
45	Mississippi	33.53	40	37	43
46	Alabama	33.23	26	47	39
47	Nevada	33.01	28	48	35
48	Kentucky	29.81	51	29	48
49	West Virginia	29.51	48	45	37
50	Alaska	29.36	33	50	49
51	Arkansas	27.65	50	36	50

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

Best vs. Worst

The District of Columbia has the most police and sheriff’s patrol officers per 100,000 residents, 773, which is 6.7 times more than in Oregon, the fewest at 116.
Illinois has the highest median annual wage for police and sheriff’s patrol officers (adjusted for cost of living), $86,127, which is two times higher than in Mississippi, the lowest at $42,124.
Rhode Island has the fewest individuals killed by police per 1,000,000 residents, 4, which is 14.8 times fewer than in New Mexico, the most at 59.
Maine has the fewest violent crimes per 1,000 residents, 1.09, which is 9.2 times fewer than in the District of Columbia, the most at 10.00.
The District of Columbia has the highest state and local police-protection expenses per capita, $997.19, which is 5.5 times higher than in Kentucky, the lowest at $181.96.

More on the research and methodology here.

Best States to Be a Cop

The Georgia Virtue

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