UNDATED With police still enforcing some COVID-19 restrictions and former officer Derek Chauvin’s trial coming to a landmark conclusion, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021’s Best & Worst States to Be a Police Officer, as well as accompanying videos.
In order to determine the best states to pursue a career in law enforcement, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 30 key indicators of police-friendliness. The data set ranges from the median income for law-enforcement officers to police deaths per 1,000 officers to state and local police-protection expenses per capita.
WalletHub ranked South Dakota 20th overall.
| Best States for Police Officers | Worst States for Police Officers |
| 1. California | 42. Alabama |
| 2. Connecticut | 43. South Carolina |
| 3. Maryland | 44. Mississippi |
| 4. District of Columbia | 45. Arkansas |
| 5. Ohio | 46. Alaska |
| 6. Illinois | 47. West Virginia |
| 7. Colorado | 48. Louisiana |
| 8. Washington | 49. Kentucky |
| 9. Georgia | 50. Nevada |
| 10. Minnesota | 51. Hawaii |
Best vs. Worst
- The District of Columbia has the most police and sheriff’s patrol officers per 100,000 residents, 793, which is 6.5 times more than in Washington, the fewest at 123.
- California has the highest median annual wage for police and sheriff’s patrol officers (adjusted for cost of living), $81,902, which is two times higher than in Mississippi, the lowest at $41,789.
- Rhode Island has the fewest individuals killed by police per 1,000,000 residents, 4, which is 13.3 times fewer than in Alaska, the most at 53.
- Maine has the fewest violent crimes per 1,000 residents, 1.15, which is 9.1 times fewer than in the District of Columbia, the most at 10.49.
- The District of Columbia has the highest state and local police-protection expenses per capita, $906.37, which is 4.6 times higher than in Kentucky, the lowest at $195.12.
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/
