How to Become a Police Officer: Pay, Training and Degree
How to become a police officer comes down to meeting your department’s age and fitness standards, passing its screening and graduating from its training academy. BLS lists a high school diploma as the typical entry education, though some departments ask for college coursework or a degree. Patrol officers (SOC 33-3051) earned a median of $76,210 a year in May 2025.
How to Become a Police Officer, Step by Step
Each department hires its own officers, so the details differ from place to place. BLS describes the steps most departments share. Your state’s standards board sets the certification rules that sit on top of it, and the state-by-state education guide lists them.
- Meet the basic standards. Candidates usually must be at least 21 years old and able to meet rigorous physical and personal qualifications, and a felony conviction or drug use may disqualify a candidate. Most states and local jurisdictions require U.S. citizenship, though some don’t. If you’re under the minimum age, some departments run cadet programs where you do clerical work and attend classes until you can apply for a position with the regular force.
- Apply and get through the screening. Applicants may have to pass physical exams of vision, hearing, strength and agility, plus written exams. Candidates typically go through a series of interviews and may be asked to take polygraph and drug tests.
- Graduate from the training academy. Most police officers must graduate from their agency’s academy before a period of on-the-job training. Academy training includes classroom instruction in state and local laws, constitutional law, civil rights and police ethics, along with training and supervised experience in patrol, traffic control, firearm use, self-defense, first aid and emergency response.
- Start on patrol. Patrol officers are the most common type of police officer. Officers typically work patrol for a certain number of years before they’re appointed to a special unit. Detectives usually begin the same way, which the detective career guide covers.
- Earn your promotions. Police officers usually become eligible for promotion after a probationary period. Promotions to corporal, sergeant, lieutenant and captain usually follow scores on a written examination and on-the-job performance.
How to Become a Police Officer With or Without a Degree
You can become a police officer with a high school diploma in most places. BLS assigns patrol officers a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry education, with no related work experience, and it says the education typically required to enter police work ranges from a high school diploma to a college degree. 44 of the 47 state and district rules on the education guide set a high school diploma or the equivalent as the minimum.
College is common anyway. BLS says many applicants for entry-level police jobs have completed some college coursework, and a significant number are college graduates. Security and protective service and social science are the common fields of degree, and some federal agencies and police departments may require college coursework or a degree. Many community colleges and four-year colleges offer programs in law enforcement and criminal justice, and the rankings further down compare them.
A degree is not a peace officer license. You still go through your agency’s screening and academy. Where college does change something, it tends to be pay, a minimum age or promotion. Some police departments offer additional pay for bilingual officers or those with college degrees, and a bachelor’s degree may be required for advancement to lieutenant or a higher rank. A few state boards write college into their rules too:
- Texas: An associate degree or 60 college semester hours lets you be licensed at 18 instead of 21. Texas rule
- Maine: An associate degree or 60 college credits lowers the academy entry age from 21 to 20. Maine rule
- Alabama: An associate degree or higher takes the place of the Basic Ability Test that diploma and GED applicants must pass. Alabama rule
What a Police Officer’s Job Is Like
BLS describes police officers, detectives and criminal investigators together, and lists what they typically do. For a patrol officer that means:
- Respond to emergency and nonemergency calls
- Patrol assigned areas, watching people and activities
- Conduct traffic stops and issue citations
- Search databases for vehicle records and warrants, then obtain and serve warrants
- Arrest people suspected of committing crimes
- Collect and secure evidence from crime scenes
- Write detailed reports and fill out forms
- Prepare cases for legal proceedings and testify in court
The work is physically demanding, stressful and dangerous, in BLS’s words, and officers must be alert and ready to react throughout their entire shift. Officers regularly work at crime and accident scenes and encounter suffering and the results of violence. Patrol officers and transit and railroad police have some of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations. Most police officers work full time, paid overtime is common, and shift work is necessary to protect the public at all times. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals, employs 96% of police and detectives.
Police Officer Salary: What Patrol Officers Earn
Police and sheriff’s patrol officers (SOC 33-3051) earned a median of $76,210 a year in May 2025, or $36.64 an hour, according to BLS’s Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Half earned more and half earned less. The middle half earned between $59,290 and $97,600, and the mean was $79,200. At the ends of the range, 10% of patrol officers earned less than $47,510 and 10% earned more than $115,120. BLS counted 670,520 patrol officers in the survey.
| Percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $47,510 |
| 25th percentile | $59,290 |
| Median | $76,210 |
| 75th percentile | $97,600 |
| 90th percentile | $115,120 |
| Mean | $79,200 |
Read the percentiles as places in the pay range, not as career stages. The 10th percentile isn’t a starting salary and the 90th isn’t what a veteran earns: each is the wage that 10% or 90% of patrol officers fell below. BLS’s handbook profile also reports a figure for police and detectives together, a different and wider group: a median of $77,310, with the lowest 10% earning less than $48,160 and the highest 10% more than $121,600. The median for all workers was $50,980. Many law enforcement agencies also provide an allowance for uniforms, extensive benefits and the option to retire at a younger age than the typical retirement age.
Police Officer Pay by State
BLS reports patrol officer pay for 51 states and districts. California paid the highest median, $118,880, and Mississippi the lowest, $46,140. 22 of the 51 had a median above the national figure. These are wages in dollars, not adjusted for what a dollar buys in each place, and a state with a page of its own links to it.
| State | Median pay | 10th percentile | 90th percentile | Officers employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $118,880 | $76,300 | $153,190 | 65,940 |
| Washington | $102,080 | $79,120 | $132,200 | 9,160 |
| Illinois | $100,520 | $58,420 | $119,560 | 29,180 |
| Alaska | $99,130 | $60,670 | $137,340 | 1,260 |
| Colorado | $97,350 | $65,340 | $109,300 | 9,610 |
| Delaware | $92,970 | $62,470 | $130,870 | 1,800 |
| New York | $92,790 | $53,000 | $118,250 | 53,470 |
| New Jersey | $92,610 | $57,740 | $134,260 | 21,780 |
| District of Columbia | $88,650 | $66,420 | $119,660 | 4,720 |
| Oregon | $88,140 | $66,380 | $109,350 | 5,030 |
| Pennsylvania | $85,470 | $48,680 | $109,780 | 26,510 |
| Hawaii | $83,820 | $77,480 | $108,110 | 2,420 |
| Minnesota | $83,360 | $60,670 | $106,160 | 9,160 |
| Connecticut | $82,170 | $63,310 | $102,660 | 6,500 |
| Massachusetts | $78,940 | $61,160 | $108,150 | 17,040 |
| Arizona | $78,880 | $60,990 | $98,560 | 12,010 |
| Nevada | $78,140 | $62,250 | $102,810 | 5,720 |
| Wisconsin | $78,090 | $58,530 | $94,450 | 12,320 |
| Maryland | $77,970 | $58,580 | $113,700 | 9,720 |
| Utah | $77,310 | $60,290 | $99,920 | 5,500 |
| Rhode Island | $77,230 | $59,020 | $91,760 | 1,940 |
| Ohio | $77,020 | $51,110 | $103,210 | 23,430 |
| Texas | $75,900 | $51,240 | $98,350 | 63,100 |
| Nebraska | $74,620 | $54,680 | $95,210 | 3,490 |
| North Dakota | $74,500 | $58,620 | $91,440 | 1,630 |
- Florida $74,470 $51,330 $98,190
- Iowa $74,470 $59,360 $101,520
- Michigan $73,730 $47,780 $89,220
- Indiana $73,370 $52,170 $100,010
- New Hampshire $71,640 $57,930 $89,940
- Montana $70,050 $55,330 $84,150
- New Mexico $69,180 $48,400 $85,740
- Vermont $68,910 $53,950 $95,530
- Maine $67,050 $55,930 $91,270
- Idaho $66,990 $48,840 $97,980
- Wyoming $66,140 $57,130 $76,840
- Virginia $65,870 $50,000 $96,820
- South Dakota $60,740 $47,540 $91,900
- Kentucky $60,490 $38,780 $77,970
- Oklahoma $59,700 $36,480 $94,940
- Missouri $59,460 $43,210 $90,770
- North Carolina $59,300 $46,040 $80,240
- Tennessee $59,280 $43,520 $79,480
- Kansas $59,230 $42,040 $90,530
- Georgia $58,120 $43,690 $76,250
- South Carolina $58,070 $45,060 $78,760
- West Virginia $56,960 $41,950 $69,980
- Alabama $51,270 $37,480 $77,220
- Louisiana $48,380 $36,470 $69,140
- Arkansas $47,670 $35,210 $70,190
- Mississippi $46,140 $33,230 $61,550
Police Officer Job Outlook Through 2035
BLS projects that overall employment of police and detectives will grow 3 percent from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as the average for all occupations. About 60,100 openings a year are projected for the group, on average, over the decade.
In BLS's projections table, police and sheriff's patrol officers have a row of their own: 693,200 jobs in 2025 and 717,300 projected for 2035, growth of 3 percent. BLS's openings table puts the annual figure for this job alone at about 51,500.
BLS adds that a desire for public safety may result in a need for more officers, but demand for employment is expected to vary by location, driven largely by local and state budgets. A department’s hiring follows its budget, so the figure above says more about the country than about your town.
Degree Routes Toward a Police Career
A criminal justice degree builds the college coursework some departments ask for, and it matters again when promotion rules mention a bachelor’s degree. These rankings compare the programs on cost, graduate earnings and four other factors.
- 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, no related work experience as the typical entry education for police and sheriff's patrol officers.
- 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 police and sheriff's patrol officers is $76,210 (SOC 33-3051, 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 police and sheriff's patrol officers, $118,880 (SOC 33-3051, May 2025).
Questions About Becoming a Police Officer
What Does It Take to Become a Police Officer?
How Hard Is It to Become a Police Officer?
How Many Police Officers Have a College Degree?
Do Cops Make $100,000 a Year?
What Are the Highest Paid Police?
Is the Job Outlook Good for Police Officers?
Sources for the Police Officer Guide
- Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- Pay for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers (SOC 33-3051): BLS OEWS occupation profile, May 2025.
- Duties, training, education, advancement, the police and detectives pay group and the 2025 to 2035 projection: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Police and Detectives, 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.
- State rules where college counts: Texas, Maine and Alabama, each read on October 7, 2026.
- Handbook and rules read on October 7, 2026.