A police officer in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara has a median wage of $136,140. In Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area the median is $24,690. That is a 5.51-fold difference for the same job title, which is unusually wide even by the standards of a country this large — and it means a national average for this role is close to meaningless.
Ten per cent of police officers earn below $47,510 and ten per cent above $115,120 — a 2.42× band. The upside from median to 90th percentile is 51%, which is a normal amount of room for experience and specialisation to matter. An offer below the 25th percentile is worth questioning; one above the 75th is worth taking seriously.
9 of the ten best-paying metros for police officers are in CA. When one state dominates the top of the table like this, cost of living is doing part of the work but rarely all of it — state licensing rules, public-sector pay scales and the presence of a few large employers usually explain the rest. If you are comparing an offer in CA against one elsewhere, adjust for housing before concluding anything.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $136,140 | $65.45 | 0.53 | 2,590 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $132,000 | $63.46 | 0.78 | 7,990 |
| Carson City NV | $131,210 | $63.08 | 0.78 | 110 |
| Vallejo CA | $129,900 | $62.45 | 1.11 | 690 |
| Napa CA | $127,310 | $61.21 | 0.9 | 300 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $125,910 | $60.53 | 0.67 | 590 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA | $122,970 | $59.12 | 0.93 | 400 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $121,980 | $58.64 | 0.91 | 24,720 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara CA | $120,900 | $58.13 | 0.84 | 730 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura CA | $119,640 | $57.52 | 0.95 | 1,330 |
| Salinas CA | $118,220 | $56.84 | 1.15 | 930 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $115,120 | $55.35 | 0.5 | 4,520 |
| Anchorage AK | $115,020 | $55.30 | 0.75 | 570 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | $111,460 | $53.59 | 1.16 | 5,420 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | $110,400 | $53.08 | 0.75 | 4,950 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $107,810 | $51.83 | 1.17 | 22,680 |
| Redding CA | $107,270 | $51.57 | 0.94 | 290 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $105,540 | $50.74 | 1.33 | 54,270 |
| Fairbanks-College AK | $105,370 | $50.66 | 0.67 | 110 |
| Kennewick-Richland WA | $104,570 | $50.28 | 0.61 | 340 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | $101,970 | $49.02 | 0.72 | 4,990 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA | $101,870 | $48.98 | 0.81 | 6,010 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles CA | $101,860 | $48.97 | 0.88 | 460 |
| Bellingham WA | $101,810 | $48.95 | 0.79 | 310 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard WA | $101,440 | $48.77 | 0.86 | 350 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area | $24,690 | $11.87 | 0.65 | 80 |
| Aguadilla PR | $28,560 | $13.73 | 0.59 | 120 |
| Guayama PR | $29,410 | $14.14 | 0.88 | 50 |
| Ponce PR | $30,830 | $14.82 | 1.21 | 330 |
| Arecibo PR | $33,070 | $15.90 | 0.56 | 80 |
| Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $36,990 | $17.79 | 2.67 | 720 |
| Lower West Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $39,020 | $18.76 | 1.88 | 650 |
| Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $39,210 | $18.85 | 0.84 | 290 |
| North Arkansas nonmetropolitan area | $39,350 | $18.92 | 1.46 | 750 |
| Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $39,550 | $19.02 | 1.68 | 570 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Charles LA | $56,290 | $27.06 | 4.07 | 1,780 |
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $45,510 | $21.88 | 3.62 | 10,770 |
| Eagle Pass TX | $61,050 | $29.35 | 2.85 | 230 |
| Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $36,990 | $17.79 | 2.67 | 720 |
| Southern South Carolina nonmetropolitan area | $46,940 | $22.57 | 2.41 | 540 |
| East-Central Montana nonmetropolitan area | $60,950 | $29.30 | 2.36 | 610 |
| Southwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area | $45,910 | $22.07 | 2.25 | 630 |
| Southeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area | $56,000 | $26.92 | 2.24 | 1,800 |
| Border Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area | $55,430 | $26.65 | 2.22 | 450 |
| Slidell-Mandeville-Covington LA | $47,790 | $22.98 | 2.14 | 900 |
| Lower East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $43,640 | $20.98 | 2.14 | 1,140 |
| West Delta Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $43,420 | $20.88 | 2.13 | 850 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $105,540 | $50.74 | 1.33 | 54,270 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $121,980 | $58.64 | 0.91 | 24,720 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $107,810 | $51.83 | 1.17 | 22,680 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $92,910 | $44.67 | 0.94 | 16,430 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $74,570 | $35.85 | 1.15 | 16,250 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $79,840 | $38.38 | 1.21 | 14,710 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $84,000 | $40.39 | 1.08 | 14,630 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $89,580 | $43.07 | 1.05 | 13,160 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $78,180 | $37.59 | 0.98 | 11,440 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $60,910 | $29.29 | 0.91 | 11,310 |
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $45,510 | $21.88 | 3.62 | 10,770 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $132,000 | $63.46 | 0.78 | 7,990 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 33-3051. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates cover 521 of 528 metropolitan areas — near-complete coverage, which means the ranges above are reliable rather than drawn from a handful of markets. Read the methodology.