How much do correctional officers make?

Correctional Officer salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Correctional Officers and Jailers (SOC 33-3012) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Correctional officers in the US earned a median of $58,940 a year ($28.34 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $48,640 to $75,850.

Median annual pay: $58,940; Mean $63,630
Median hourly pay: $28.34; Mean $30.59
Typical range (10th–90th): $42.8K–$93.2K; $42,760 to $93,220
US jobs: 380,500; −7.4% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a correctional officer: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: New Jersey

Correctional Officer pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$42,760
25th percentile$48,640
Median$58,940
75th percentile$75,850
90th percentile$93,220

Half of all correctional officers earned more than $58,940 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $42,760; the top 10% made over $93,220. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $48,640 to $75,850.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$42,760	$20.56	$3,563
25th	$48,640	$23.38	$4,053
Median (50th)	$58,940	$28.34	$4,912
75th	$75,850	$36.47	$6,321
90th	$93,220	$44.82	$7,768
Mean (average)	$63,630	$30.59	$5,303

Correctional Officer salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for correctional officers by state. Darker tiles pay more. A dash means BLS did not publish a figure.

Highest-paying states

1. California $96,370
2. New Jersey $94,770
3. Massachusetts $86,310
4. Oregon $83,690
5. Washington $79,460

Lowest-paying states

49. Mississippi $38,720
48. Louisiana $39,850
47. Arkansas $40,330
46. Kentucky $42,310
45. Missouri $42,620

Best after cost of living: New Jersey. Its median of $94,770 is worth about $87,101 at national-average prices, more than in California once prices are counted.


Alabama	$46,660	43	$52,531	36	$22.43	4,970	2.35
Alaska	$71,360	10	$69,715	11	$34.31	850	2.60
Arizona	$54,970	24	$54,600	32	$26.43	14,230	4.39
Arkansas	$40,330	47	$46,390	47	$19.39	4,460	3.42
California	$96,370	1	$87,039	2	$46.33	37,860	2.08
Colorado	$62,140	20	$60,300	23	$29.87	7,290	2.54
Connecticut	$64,750	15	$62,494	19	$31.13	3,780	2.23
Delaware	$65,880	14	$66,007	15	$31.67	1,730	3.58
District of Columbia	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Florida	$49,710	37	$48,069	44	$23.90	24,280	2.45
Georgia	$47,520	42	$49,349	43	$22.84	10,640	2.18
Hawaii	$69,570	11	$63,274	18	$33.45	1,310	2.08
Idaho	$53,580	27	$56,108	29	$25.76	2,370	2.76
Illinois	$79,190	6	$79,223	5	$38.07	12,190	2.00
Indiana	$48,340	39	$51,795	40	$23.24	8,060	2.52
Iowa	$53,040	28	$60,436	22	$25.50	3,440	2.21
Kansas	$56,120	23	$62,308	20	$26.98	3,380	2.35
Kentucky	$42,310	46	$46,928	46	$20.34	6,770	3.38
Louisiana	$39,850	48	$45,178	48	$19.16	7,960	4.11
Maine	$52,730	31	$54,333	33	$25.35	1,090	1.69
Maryland	$64,250	16	$61,214	21	$30.89	6,060	2.19
Massachusetts	$86,310	3	$81,612	3	$41.49	6,360	1.75
Michigan	$64,020	17	$66,537	14	$30.78	8,220	1.87
Minnesota	$66,040	13	$66,963	13	$31.75	5,350	1.81
Mississippi	$38,720	49	$44,530	49	$18.62	4,040	3.47
Missouri	$42,620	45	$46,930	45	$20.49	6,670	2.27
Montana	$49,180	38	$51,963	39	$23.64	1,430	2.80
Nebraska	$63,380	19	$70,342	10	$30.47	3,250	3.17
Nevada	$76,490	8	$76,506	7	$36.77	3,240	2.09
New Hampshire	$61,360	21	$58,907	28	$29.50	680	0.99
New Jersey	$94,770	2	$87,101	1	$45.56	7,570	1.77
New Mexico	$47,940	40	$51,989	38	$23.05	2,740	3.15
New York	$76,820	7	$71,182	9	$36.93	27,770	2.87
North Carolina	$50,550	35	$53,591	35	$24.30	11,900	2.41
North Dakota	$52,460	33	$58,971	27	$25.22	1,290	3.02
Ohio	$59,370	22	$63,994	17	$28.55	12,610	2.27
Oklahoma	$45,690	44	$52,013	37	$21.97	3,730	2.19
Oregon	$83,690	4	$80,969	4	$40.24	3,650	1.86
Pennsylvania	$63,460	18	$65,039	16	$30.51	15,560	2.57
Rhode Island	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
South Carolina	$47,890	41	$51,083	41	$23.02	4,870	2.11
South Dakota	$53,040	29	$59,874	24	$25.50	1,490	3.25
Tennessee	$50,940	34	$55,448	30	$24.49	6,990	2.13
Texas	$52,670	32	$54,267	34	$25.32	44,700	3.18
Utah	$67,290	12	$68,063	12	$32.35	2,050	1.18
Vermont	$53,810	26	$54,932	31	$25.87	450	1.46
Virginia	$50,140	36	$49,592	42	$24.11	11,270	2.74
Washington	$79,460	5	$74,253	8	$38.20	6,800	1.91
West Virginia	$52,890	30	$59,097	26	$25.43	2,980	4.25
Wisconsin	$73,470	9	$78,081	6	$35.32	7,360	2.50
Wyoming	$54,780	25	$59,100	25	$26.34	920	3.28

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure (2 states). State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for correctional officers

281 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$132,670	$120,147	1,050
Salinas, CA	$109,620	$100,530	1,510
Bakersfield-Delano, CA	$107,220	$106,278	3,280
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	$107,220	$98,733	710
Stockton-Lodi, CA	$107,220	$102,028	1,220
Vineland, NJ	$106,570	$111,047	1,090
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$99,880	$86,392	1,500
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$94,740	$87,079	470
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$94,730	$88,997	4,800
Fresno, CA	$94,010	$92,024	2,660

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	14,730	$93,220	$82,816
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	8,920	$57,280	$55,442
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	8,650	$53,810	$54,558
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	6,070	$78,770	$69,361
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	5,570	$67,200	$65,526
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	5,170	$58,930	$57,164
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	5,010	$66,770	$58,491
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	4,940	$84,550	$81,616
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	4,800	$94,730	$88,997
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	4,510	$89,060	$82,260

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves correctional officer pay: employers and settings

Who runs the facility matters most. Nearly all correctional officers work for government: state government employs 191,530 at a median of $59,990 and local government (county jails and city detention centers) employs 157,270 at $58,480. The Federal Bureau of Prisons and other federal employers pay the most, a median of $74,630 for 14,180 officers. Private employers, mostly companies that run prisons and detention centers under contract, pay a median of $48,020; facilities support services, the main private category, pays $46,910.

State is the other big lever. California pays a median of $96,370, New Jersey $94,770, Massachusetts $86,310, Oregon $83,690, and Washington $79,460. At the bottom are Arkansas at $40,330, Louisiana at $39,850, and Mississippi at $38,720. After cost of living, New Jersey comes out ahead at $87,101.

Across the occupation, the 10th percentile is $42,760, while the 90th is $93,220, with the median at $58,940. Within one agency, pay usually rises on a fixed step scale with years of service and promotion to sergeant or lieutenant. Overtime and, at some agencies, night and weekend shift differentials add to take-home pay; where officers are unionized, contracts set those rates. Some agencies, such as the Texas prison system, start applicants with a degree or military service on a higher step.

Where correctional officers work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals	50.3%	$59,990
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals	41.3%	$58,480
Facilities Support Services	3.7%	$46,910
Federal Executive Branch	3.7%	$74,630
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals	0.1%	$61,360
Other Residential Care Facilities	0.1%	$38,540

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	17,160	$48,020
Federal government (incl. Postal Service)	14,180	$74,630
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	191,980	$59,990
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	157,170	$58,500

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Correctional Officer pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$58.9K $40.5K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $40,530 in 2015 to $58,940 in 2025, up 45% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $54,788 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay grew 8% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What correctional officers do

A correctional officer keeps people in custody secure, accounted for and safe inside a jail or prison. The job goes by several names: corrections officer or CO in state prisons, jailer or detention officer in county jails, and prison guard in everyday speech. Jails are run mostly by counties and cities and hold people awaiting trial or serving short sentences; prisons are run by states and the federal government and hold people serving longer terms.

Officers spend most of a shift on a housing unit, at a control post or on the yard. They count the population several times a day, search cells and people for weapons and drugs, check locks and bars, screen visitors and mail, and move people to meals, classes, medical visits and court. When a fight breaks out they step in and restrain people, then write it up. They work alongside sergeants and lieutenants, case managers, nurses, teachers and transport teams. Because a facility never closes, the job runs on round-the-clock shifts with weekends, holidays and overtime that can be mandatory.

A typical day

Count everyone on the unit at set times and report any mismatch at once
Search cells, common areas and people for weapons, drugs and phones
Check doors, locks, window bars and fences for tampering
Escort people in custody to meals, medical, visits and court, often in restraints
Break up fights and use approved force or restraints when needed
Screen visitors and inspect incoming mail and packages for contraband
Write incident reports and log every notable event before the shift ends

Also called: corrections officer, prison guard, jailer, detention officer, booking officer, community services officer (cso), corrections officer (co), deputy jailer.

How to become a correctional officer

Full guide

Most correctional officers need a high school diploma or GED, must be at least 18 to 21 depending on the agency, pass a background check and physical test, and complete a paid academy of a few weeks to a few months. You can go from application to working a unit in roughly 3 to 9 months; federal prisons also require a bachelor's degree or qualifying experience.

Typical time: 6 to 9 months; Fastest: 3 months
Minimum education: High school diploma or GED (federal prisons: bachelor's degree or 3 years of qualifying work experience)
License: No national license; some states make correctional officers earn a state certification, and every agency sets its own hiring and training standard
Typical training cost: $0–$4.5K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a correctional officer: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 6 to 9 months; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $0–$4.5K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $58,940; $7,960 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 0–8%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($7,960 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year after training ends (6 to 9 months in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for correctional officers

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: −7.4%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 397,800; 368,200 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 28,400; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: —; Not in the pay figures above

BLS expects jobs for correctional officers and jailers to shrink from 397,800 in 2025 to 368,200 in 2035, a 7.4% drop, while all occupations grow 3.5%. The cause is fewer people behind bars: many states have shortened sentences and expanded alternatives to prison, and community programs aim to keep people from returning.

Even so, about 28,400 openings a year are projected, all of them from officers who retire or leave for other work. Openings appear in every state, and agencies that are short of officers often post jobs year-round.

Related careers and their pay

Police Officer$76,210
Detective$93,790
Private Investigator$51,220
Healthcare Administrator$123,860
First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers$77,970

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Correctional Officer salary FAQ

How much do correctional officers make an hour?

The median hourly wage for correctional officers was $28.34 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $20.56 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $44.82. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays correctional officers the most?

California has the highest median pay for correctional officers, $96,370 a year, followed by New Jersey ($94,770) and Massachusetts ($86,310). After adjusting for each state's price level, New Jersey comes out ahead at about $87,101 in national-average dollars.

Do correctional officers make six figures?

Few do: based on the BLS percentiles, fewer than 10% of correctional officers earn more than $100,000 a year. The median is $58,940, and the top 10% earn more than $93,220. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

What is the difference between a jailer and a correctional officer?

The duties are close to the same, and BLS counts both in one occupation. A jailer or detention officer usually works in a county or city jail, where people are booked in, held before trial or serve short sentences, so the population changes daily. A correctional officer more often works in a state or federal prison with people serving longer sentences. Jails are often run by the sheriff, and some jail staff are sworn deputies.

Why do federal correctional officers earn more?

Federal officers are paid on the federal law enforcement (GL) pay scale, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons sets a higher bar for entry: a bachelor's degree or three years of general work experience. That shows in the figures: federal employers pay a median of $74,630 compared with $59,990 in state government and $58,480 in local government. Federal officers also get law enforcement retirement coverage, which comes with a maximum hiring age.

Do correctional officers have to work overtime?

Often, yes. Jails and prisons must be staffed every hour of every day, and BLS notes that overtime can be required. At agencies short of staff, that can mean double shifts or being held over at the end of a shift. Shifts cover nights, weekends and holidays, and how schedules are assigned depends on the agency and any union contract. Overtime raises earnings but adds to the fatigue and stress the job already carries.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 33-3012
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (33-3012.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Correctional Officers and Bailiffs, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
BOP: Hiring Process, Federal Bureau of Prisons · checked October 28, 2026
Correctional Officer - Recruitment Incentive - Direct Hire (DHA-2026-0034), USAJOBS, Federal Bureau of Prisons · checked October 28, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions: Correctional Officer Position, Texas Department of Criminal Justice · checked October 28, 2026
Be a Correctional Officer: Eligibility Criteria, Texas Department of Criminal Justice · checked October 28, 2026
Corrections Certification Program, American Correctional Association · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026

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