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 | Average (98.1) | $133,710 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $136,140 | Above avg (110.4) | $123,290 |
| Vallejo, CA | $129,900 | Above avg (108.5) | $119,747 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $125,910 | Above avg (107.8) | $116,817 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $132,000 | Above avg (115.6) | $114,174 |
| Napa, CA | $127,310 | Above avg (112.6) | $113,110 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $122,970 | Above avg (109.9) | $111,897 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $120,900 | Above avg (108.8) | $111,123 |
| Anchorage, AK | $115,020 | Above avg (105.4) | $109,106 |
| Salinas, CA | $118,220 | Above avg (109.0) | $108,417 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $119,640 | Above avg (110.5) | $108,238 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $121,980 | Above avg (113.6) | $107,409 |
| Redding, CA | $107,270 | Average (100.7) | $106,541 |
| Columbus, OH | $100,890 | Below avg (95.5) | $105,678 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $111,460 | Above avg (106.7) | $104,490 |