Police Salary Overview

From New York City to Los Angeles, police officers are employed in every big city and small town across the United States. Clearly, the yearly salary for police officers will vary from one place to the next. Cost of living and population size are obvious factors affecting the average police salary. Other considerations include a police officer's experience level and employment setting. Measuring Police Salary by Years of Experience shows how significant the change in salary can be for police officers after five, 10, and 20 years of experience. Law enforcement can be a demanding profession, and police officers learn a great deal from first-hand, on-the-job experience. It makes sense that years of experience would have such a major impact on the typical police salary. However, don't discount the value of education and training; the Police Salary by Degree chart shows that the median police salary is higher for officers who have earned a bachelor's degree than for those with a high school diploma or associate degree.

Police Salary by Location

Comparing Police Salary by State shows that New Jersey and California currently offer a higher yearly salary for police officers than some other states. However, the Police Salary by City chart puts Los Angeles far ahead of other cities when comparing median income. Why would the median LAPD salary be higher than the median police salary offered by police departments in other cities? One factor could be cost of living. Use the PayScale Cost of Living Calculator to research both the median LAPD Salary Range and Cost of Living in LA. Another factor to consider when researching police salaries in different cities is commute time. The chart showing Average Commute Time by City reveals that police officers in Los Angeles spend more time commuting than in some other locations. Looking beyond salary data to cost of living, commute times, and other reports helps to paint a bigger picture of what it would really be like to live and work as a police officer in a given area.