Poll: California Named Best State to Be a Police Officer; What Do You Think?

What to know

California ranks as the best state for police officers in 2025, based on factors like salary, training requirements and public safety investment.
Law enforcement in California benefits from rigorous training and high spending, with 560 hours of field training and over $22.9 billion spent on policing in the 2022–23 fiscal year.
WalletHub’s rankings are based on 30 metrics, evaluating job opportunities, salary, training and safety, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and FBI.

Considering a career in law enforcement? California is the best state to be a police officer, according to a new WalletHub report.

The personal finance company recently ranked the best and worst states for police officers in the nation in 2025, based on median income, training requirements, violent crime rates and other factors.

California ranked No. 1.

“Some states make protecting and serving the public in a law enforcement career more appealing than others,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo wrote in a Monday, May 5, article. “The best states for police officers offer competitive compensation, supplemented by solid training that helps minimize the chances of deadly violence between officers and civilians.”

Here’s what makes California an ideal place for law enforcement officers to live and work:

Why is California the best state to be a police officer?

California had a total of 82,014 sworn law enforcement officers in 2024, according to the latest data available from the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

Law enforcement agencies in the Golden State require “rigorous training for officers,” WalletHub said.

The state requires 560 hours of field training, the second-highest in the country.

California also ranked among the U.S. states with the highest per capita spending on state and local police, WalletHub said.

California cities spent more than $15.1 billion on policing in the 2022–23 fiscal year, while counties in California spent $7.8 billion, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

The average monthly starting salary for a California police officer is $5,600, the fifth-highest wage in the United States, according to WalletHub.

The median annual wage for police and sheriff’s patrol officers is nearly $85,600, the third-highest salary in the nation, WalletHub said,

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, California law enforcement personnel earned a median hourly wage of $53.74, the highest pay rate in the country.

California ranked No. 11 in the nation in terms of opportunities and competition for police officers, WalletHub found, and No. 12 in terms of job hazards and protections.

What are the top 10 states for law enforcement?

These are the top 10 states to be a law enforcement officer in the United States, according to WalletHub:

California
Connecticut
Illinois
District of Columbia
Maryland
Colorado
Minnesota
Tennessee
Washington
Ohio

What are the worst US states for cops?

These are the 10 U.S. states where police officers fare the worst, WalletHub said:

Vermont
Montana
Oregon
West Virginia
Alabama
Louisiana
Arkansas
Nevada
Hawaii
Alaska

How did WalletHub come up with its findings?

To determine the best places for law enforcement careers, WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on three key categories: opportunities and competition; law enforcement training opportunities and job hazards and protections.

The personal finance website then evaluated those dimensions using 30 metrics, ranging from the number of law enforcement officers per capita and the average starting salary for police officers to de-escalation training requirements and police death rates.

WalletHub used data for its report from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics and FBI.

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