National Police Week kicked off May 14 and the personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2017’s Best & Worst States to Be a Police Officer.
The purpose of the study is to determine the best states to pursue a career in law enforcement, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 20 key indicators of police-friendliness. The data set ranges from median income for law-enforcement officers to police deaths per 1,000 officers to state and local police-protection expenses per capita. For the purposes of this analysis WalletHub included police, sheriff officers, detectives and criminal investigator as “law enforcement officers.”
| Best States for Police Officers | Worst States for Police Officers | ||||
| 1 | North Dakota | 42 | Idaho | ||
| 2 | Connecticut | 43 | Georgia | ||
| 3 | New York | 44 | Missouri | ||
| 4 | Illinois | 45 | South Carolina | ||
| 5 | Minnesota | 46 | Tennessee | ||
| 6 | New Hampshire | 47 | Kentucky | ||
| 7 | New Jersey | 48 | New Mexico | ||
| 8 | Texas | 49 | Alaska | ||
| 9 | Maine | 50 | Arkansas | ||
| 10 | South Dakota | 51 | Louisiana | ||
Once again Arizona is near the middle of the 51 States including the District of Columbia at number 34 while ranking in the top five in two categories reflected in the images below:
Best vs. Worst
- The District of Columbia has the most police and sheriff’s patrol officers per 100,000 residents, 810.8, which is 6.4 times more than in Oregon, registering the fewest at 126.7.
- Illinois has the highest median annual wage for police and sheriff’s patrol officers (adjusted for cost of living), $77,728, which is two times higher than in Vermont, registering the lowest at $37,941.
- Rhode Island has the fewest individuals killed by police per 1,000,000 residents, 4.75, which is 7.9 times fewer than in New Mexico, registering the most at 37.39.
- Vermont has the fewest violent crimes per 1,000 residents, 1.18, which is 10.8 times fewer than in the District of Columbia, registering the most at 12.69.
- The District of Columbia has the highest state and local police-protection expenses per capita, $912.20, which is 5.6 times higher than in Kentucky, registering the lowest at $162.09.
To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, visit WalletHub.