Correctional Officer Salary and How to Become One
Correctional officer salary runs from $42,760 at the 10th percentile to $93,220 at the 90th, with a median of $58,940 a year in May 2025 (SOC 33-3012). The job asks for a high school diploma and a training academy, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons sets its own entry rules. BLS projects that employment of correctional officers and bailiffs will decline 7 percent from 2025 to 2035, though replacements still leave about 30,000 openings a year.
Correctional Officer Salary: What the Job Pays
Correctional officers and jailers (SOC 33-3012) earned a median of $58,940 a year in May 2025, or $28.34 an hour, in BLS’s Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Half earned more and half earned less. The mean was $63,630, and the middle half earned between $48,640 and $75,850. At the ends of the range, 10% earned less than $42,760 and 10% earned more than $93,220. BLS counted 380,500 of them in the survey.
| Percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $42,760 |
| 25th percentile | $48,640 |
| Median | $58,940 |
| 75th percentile | $75,850 |
| 90th percentile | $93,220 |
| Mean | $63,630 |
Percentiles show where an officer falls in the range, not how long they’ve served, so the 10th percentile isn’t a starting salary. BLS reports two neighboring figures from the same handbook profile, and each belongs to a different group: $58,850 for correctional officers and bailiffs together and $56,600 for bailiffs alone. The median for all workers was $50,980.
Correctional Officer Salary by State
BLS reports correctional officer salary for 49 states and districts. California paid the highest median, $96,370, and Mississippi the lowest, $38,720. 22 of the 49 had a median above the national figure. The table holds the 25 highest-paying states and the list continues the order.
| State | Median pay | 10th percentile | 90th percentile | Officers employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $96,370 | $63,380 | $114,730 | 37,860 |
| New Jersey | $94,770 | $51,410 | $106,570 | 7,570 |
| Massachusetts | $86,310 | $63,520 | $101,620 | 6,360 |
| Oregon | $83,690 | $64,200 | $95,820 | 3,650 |
| Washington | $79,460 | $64,460 | $95,430 | 6,800 |
| Illinois | $79,190 | $50,520 | $102,770 | 12,190 |
| New York | $76,820 | $58,940 | $93,220 | 27,770 |
| Nevada | $76,490 | $62,150 | $102,610 | 3,240 |
| Wisconsin | $73,470 | $56,540 | $92,140 | 7,360 |
| Alaska | $71,360 | $60,340 | $94,930 | 850 |
| Hawaii | $69,570 | $64,250 | $82,240 | 1,310 |
| Utah | $67,290 | $47,700 | $84,680 | 2,050 |
| Minnesota | $66,040 | $54,060 | $82,380 | 5,350 |
| Delaware | $65,880 | $46,520 | $79,260 | 1,730 |
| Connecticut | $64,750 | $55,520 | $70,710 | 3,780 |
| Maryland | $64,250 | $53,100 | $82,280 | 6,060 |
| Michigan | $64,020 | $47,360 | $77,990 | 8,220 |
| Pennsylvania | $63,460 | $46,840 | $85,630 | 15,560 |
| Nebraska | $63,380 | $47,630 | $78,270 | 3,250 |
| Colorado | $62,140 | $52,370 | $87,690 | 7,290 |
| New Hampshire | $61,360 | $47,480 | $82,240 | 680 |
| Ohio | $59,370 | $46,930 | $68,060 | 12,610 |
| Kansas | $56,120 | $37,000 | $64,940 | 3,380 |
| Arizona | $54,970 | $45,620 | $65,030 | 14,230 |
| Wyoming | $54,780 | $50,340 | $71,010 | 920 |
- Vermont $53,810 $46,010 $71,660
- Idaho $53,580 $45,430 $74,720
- Iowa $53,040 $47,670 $73,530
- South Dakota $53,040 $43,240 $66,390
- West Virginia $52,890 $45,390 $75,610
- Maine $52,730 $44,640 $60,510
- Texas $52,670 $44,870 $60,550
- North Dakota $52,460 $47,580 $62,870
- Tennessee $50,940 $38,690 $62,790
- North Carolina $50,550 $38,850 $63,150
- Virginia $50,140 $46,320 $70,570
- Florida $49,710 $45,760 $80,500
- Montana $49,180 $44,690 $62,730
- Indiana $48,340 $41,670 $61,840
- New Mexico $47,940 $37,900 $59,330
- South Carolina $47,890 $40,090 $71,390
- Georgia $47,520 $36,820 $58,430
- Alabama $46,660 $30,430 $74,290
- Oklahoma $45,690 $34,530 $58,380
- Missouri $42,620 $37,210 $63,940
- Kentucky $42,310 $29,910 $61,820
- Arkansas $40,330 $31,200 $49,360
- Louisiana $39,850 $30,770 $55,260
- Mississippi $38,720 $27,540 $55,580
Correctional Officer Pay by Employer
Correctional officer salary also depends on who employs you. The handbook breaks the May 2025 median down by the employer, for the largest ones. State government employs 52% of correctional officers, local government 40% and the federal government 4%.
| Employer | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Federal government | $74,630 |
| State government | $59,990 |
| Local government | $58,500 |
| Facilities support services | $46,910 |
How to Become a Correctional Officer
- Finish high school. Correctional officers typically need a high school diploma to enter the occupation. Many agencies set a minimum age that is usually between 18 and 21, and federal agencies may require a bachelor’s degree or work experience and may have a maximum age for entry.
- Apply to a jail, a state prison system or the federal Bureau of Prisons. Each sets its own qualifications, which vary by state and agency.
- Complete the academy. Correctional officers complete training at an academy, and the training varies by state. Trainees receive instruction in subjects including self-defense, institutional policies, regulations, operations and security procedures. Some states require correctional officers to complete state certification.
- Move up or specialize. Correctional officers may advance to supervisory positions such as sergeant, lieutenant or captain, and they may move into specialized units, such as a gang task force or hostage negotiation.
Federal Correctional Officer Jobs and Pay
The Federal Bureau of Prisons hires on its own scale, and it is where education changes the grade, and so the correctional officer salary, you start at. Its careers site lists the GL-04 entry standard as 30 semester hours plus one year of general experience, or two years of full-time general experience. Its direct-hire posting reaches higher grades by education: GL-05 for a full four-year bachelor’s degree in any field from an accredited college or university, and GL-06 for 9 semester hours of graduate study in a major of criminal justice, social science or another field related to the position.
That posting says GL-04 applications are not being evaluated at this time. Applicants must be onboarded before their 40th birthday. New hires complete a three-week introductory correctional techniques course at Glynco, Georgia. The posting’s salary range for 2026 runs from $44,902 at GL-04 to $98,113 at the highest grade and location it lists, and BLS’s federal government median for the job was $74,630.
GL-05: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in any field leading to a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
USAJOBS, Federal Bureau of Prisons correctional officer posting
What a Correctional Officer’s Job Is Like
Correctional officers enforce rules and keep order within jails or prisons, supervise the activities of people in custody, inspect facilities for security and safety, search persons and property for rule violations, report on the conduct of people in custody, and escort them between jail, courtroom, prison or another point. They conduct regular counts to make sure everyone is present and write reports and daily logs of anything noteworthy that happened on their shift.
The job is stressful and dangerous. Correctional officers may be injured in confrontations with people in custody, which gives them one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations. Because jails and prisons need security around the clock, officers work shifts that cover all hours of the day and night, including weekends and holidays, and may be required to work overtime.
Correctional Officer Job Outlook Through 2035
BLS projects that overall employment of correctional officers and bailiffs will decline 7 percent from 2025 to 2035. About 30,000 openings a year are projected for the group despite the decline, and BLS expects all of them to come from replacing workers who transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force.
In BLS's projections table, correctional officers and jailers have a row of their own: 397,800 jobs in 2025 and 368,200 projected for 2035, a decline of 7 percent. BLS's openings table puts the annual figure for this job alone at about 28,400.
BLS gives the reason for the decline: faced with high costs for keeping people in prison, many state governments have moved toward laws requiring shorter prison terms and alternatives to prison.
Degree Routes Toward Corrections Work
A degree isn’t the usual way into a correctional officer job, but it matters at the Bureau of Prisons, and it matters if you want to move toward probation work. These rankings compare the programs.
- Two-Year Degrees Associate Degree in Criminal Justice 683 ranked associate’s programs, scored on cost, graduate earnings and four other factors. BLS lists a high school diploma as the typical entry education for correctional officers and jailers.
- Online Bachelor’s Degrees Online Criminal Justice Degree 187 ranked online bachelor’s programs, priced for an online student from another state. Median pay for correctional officers and jailers is $58,940 (SOC 33-3012, May 2025).
- Campus and Online Best Colleges for Criminal Justice 745 ranked bachelor’s programs, campus and online, priced at the in-state rate. California has the highest state median for correctional officers and jailers, $96,370 (SOC 33-3012, May 2025).
Questions About Correctional Officer Pay and Entry
How Much Do Correctional Officers Make?
Do You Need a Degree to Be a Correctional Officer?
Which State Has the Highest Correctional Officer Salary?
Do Federal Correctional Officers Make More?
Are Correctional Officers in Demand?
What Is the Difference Between a Correctional Officer and a Probation Officer?
Sources for the Correctional Officer Guide
- Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- Pay for Correctional Officers and Jailers (SOC 33-3012): BLS OEWS occupation profile, May 2025.
- Duties, training, schedule, employers, pay by employer, group medians and the 2025 to 2035 projection: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Correctional Officers and Bailiffs, last modified August 27, 2026.
- Typical entry education: BLS Employment Projections, education and training assignments by occupation, 2025. Openings for this job alone: BLS occupational separations and openings.
- Federal entry rules: Federal Bureau of Prisons correctional officer careers and the USAJOBS direct-hire posting.
- Handbook and postings read on October 7, 2026.