With President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address calling for the nation to “fund the police” with better training and resources, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Best & Worst States to Be a Police Officer, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary.
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.
| Best States for Police Officers | Worst States for Police Officers |
| 1. Connecticut | 42. Kentucky |
| 2. California | 43. South Carolina |
| 3. Illinois | 44. Louisiana |
| 4. District of Columbia | 45. Montana |
| 5. Maryland | 46. Nevada |
| 6. Massachusetts | 47. Mississippi |
| 7. Minnesota | 48. West Virginia |
| 8. Washington | 49. Alaska |
| 9. Colorado | 50. Hawaii |
| 10. Ohio | 51. Arkansas |
Best vs. Worst
- The District of Columbia has the most police and sheriff’s patrol officers per 100,000 residents, 776, which is 6.7 times more than in Washington, the fewest at 115.
- Washington has the highest median annual wage for police and sheriff’s patrol officers (adjusted for cost of living), $85,244, which is two times higher than in Mississippi, the lowest at $42,207.
- Rhode Island has the fewest individuals killed by police per 1,000,000 residents, 6, which is 10.8 times fewer than in New Mexico, the most at 65.
- Maine has the fewest violent crimes per 1,000 residents, 1.09, which is 9.2 times fewer than in the District of Columbia, the most at 10.00.
- The District of Columbia has the highest state and local police-protection expenses per capita, $936.17, which is 5.1 times higher than in Kentucky, the lowest at $183.97.
