Best Cities for Correctional Officers and Jailerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where correctional officers and jailerss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.87	$132,670	$110,374	28%
2	CaliforniaState	1.48	$96,370	$87,055	28%
3	New JerseyState	1.48	$94,770	$87,105	23%
4	IllinoisState	1.38	$79,190	$81,304	20%
5	OregonState	1.38	$83,690	$81,252	23%
6	MassachusettsState	1.35	$86,310	$79,548	31%
7	WisconsinState	1.35	$73,470	$79,599	18%
8	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.33	$89,060	$78,467	34%
9	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.33	$84,640	$78,516	25%
10	NevadaState	1.30	$76,490	$76,337	23%
11	WashingtonState	1.26	$79,460	$74,054	29%
12	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.26	$67,920	$74,474	22%
13	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.21	$81,550	$71,347	32%
14	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.19	$69,640	$69,990	26%
15	MichiganState	1.18	$64,020	$69,361	21%
16	NebraskaState	1.18	$63,380	$69,268	20%
17	AlaskaState	1.16	$71,360	$68,418	23%
18	New YorkState	1.16	$76,820	$68,284	29%
19	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.15	$78,770	$67,614	35%
20	MinnesotaState	1.14	$66,040	$67,388	23%
21	UtahState	1.14	$67,290	$67,156	27%
22	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.13	$65,340	$66,335	32%
23	DelawareState	1.11	$65,880	$65,228	25%
24	OhioState	1.11	$59,370	$65,675	21%
25	PennsylvaniaState	1.11	$63,460	$65,423	25%
26	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.11	$60,540	$65,449	23%
27	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.10	$67,200	$64,928	28%
28	HawaiiState	1.07	$69,570	$63,245	41%
29	West VirginiaState	1.07	$52,890	$62,815	19%
30	KansasState	1.06	$56,120	$62,356	22%
31	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.06	$70,570	$62,562	34%
32	Columbus, OHMetro	1.05	$58,040	$62,075	27%
33	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.04	$66,770	$61,539	37%
34	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.03	$64,250	$60,728	31%
35	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$58,930	$60,628	32%
36	ConnecticutState	1.02	$64,750	$60,177	29%
37	IowaState	1.01	$53,040	$59,462	22%
38	ColoradoState	1.00	$62,140	$58,956	36%
39	MarylandState	1.00	$64,250	$58,837	31%
40	WyomingState	1.00	$54,780	$58,903	22%
41	South DakotaState	0.99	$53,040	$58,414	22%
42	New HampshireState	0.98	$61,360	$57,887	31%
43	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$54,600	$56,994	33%
44	North DakotaState	0.96	$52,460	$56,652	22%
45	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.95	$51,310	$55,772	31%
46	IdahoState	0.94	$53,580	$55,523	27%
47	TennesseeState	0.94	$50,940	$55,672	30%
48	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.94	$51,390	$55,377	30%
49	TexasState	0.93	$52,670	$55,094	32%
50	ArizonaState	0.92	$54,970	$54,480	33%
51	AlabamaState	0.91	$46,660	$53,571	25%
52	IndianaState	0.91	$48,340	$53,414	26%
53	North CarolinaState	0.91	$50,550	$53,549	31%
54	MaineState	0.90	$52,730	$52,836	29%
55	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.90	$50,940	$52,952	37%
56	VermontState	0.89	$53,810	$52,498	32%
57	New MexicoState	0.88	$47,940	$52,109	26%
58	OklahomaState	0.88	$45,690	$51,627	25%
59	South CarolinaState	0.88	$47,890	$52,054	31%
60	MontanaState	0.87	$49,180	$51,017	28%
61	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.87	$49,380	$51,012	39%
62	GeorgiaState	0.86	$47,520	$50,878	36%
63	FloridaState	0.83	$49,710	$48,975	42%
64	MissouriState	0.82	$42,620	$48,104	29%
65	VirginiaState	0.82	$50,140	$48,444	38%
66	KentuckyState	0.81	$42,310	$47,808	27%
67	ArkansasState	0.79	$40,330	$46,732	26%
68	MississippiState	0.77	$38,720	$45,660	28%
69	LouisianaState	0.75	$39,850	$44,229	32%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).