Police Officers
Salary, job outlook, AI risk & career information
Police Officers in the United States earn a median salary of $76,210 per year — about $37 per hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Roughly 827K people work in this occupation nationwide, with projected employment growth of +3%.
AI & Automation Risk
The core of the job involves physical presence, emergency response, and manual tasks like making arrests and patrolling, which are resistant to AI. However, a significant portion of the work involves digital tasks such as writing detailed reports, searching databases, and analyzing evidence, all of which are highly susceptible to AI-driven automation and efficiency gains.
Salary by City — What You Actually Take Home
Real purchasing power = salary adjusted for cost of living. Higher = more money in your pocket.
| City | Local Salary | Cost of Living | Real Purchasing Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carson City, NVBEST VALUE | $131,210 | Below avg (94.9) | $138,279 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $136,140 | Above avg (113.1) | $120,415 |
| Vallejo, CA | $129,900 | Above avg (109.4) | $118,783 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $125,910 | Above avg (110.3) | $114,201 |
| Napa, CA | $127,310 | Above avg (111.8) | $113,847 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $132,000 | Above avg (117.6) | $112,292 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $122,970 | Above avg (112.8) | $109,041 |
| Anchorage, AK | $115,020 | Above avg (106.8) | $107,726 |
| Columbus, OH | $100,890 | Below avg (94.6) | $106,615 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $120,900 | Above avg (113.7) | $106,307 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $121,980 | Above avg (114.7) | $106,302 |
| Kennewick-Richland, WA | $104,570 | Average (98.9) | $105,749 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $119,640 | Above avg (113.7) | $105,238 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $107,810 | Average (102.5) | $105,195 |
| Salinas, CA | $118,220 | Above avg (113.2) | $104,452 |