WalletHub ranked the 50 states and Washington, D.C. based on a variety of criteria to determine the most law enforcement-friendly states. Maryland ranked 4th best in the country for 2023.
Based on this ranking, the top five states in the country for law enforcement professionals are California (#1), District of Columbia (#2), Connecticut (#3), Maryland (#4), and Illinois (#5).
WalletHub compared the states in three key areas: 1) Opportunity and Competition, 2) Law Enforcement Training Requirements, and 3) Job Hazards and Protections. The study was based on 30 metrics to assign a weighted score for each of the three key areas. Average starting salary, law-enforcement officers per capita, and training time needed are three of the 30 metrics evaluated.
Maryland scored 15th for median income for police officers, 25th for median income growth for police officers, 28th for violent crime rate, 5th for police protection expenses per capita, and 20th for police deaths per 1,000 officers.
Data used to create this ranking were collected from U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Projections Central State Occupational Projections, Council for Community and Economic Research, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Urban Institute, Institute for American Police Reform, The Officer Down Memorial Page, Mapping Police Violence, Murder Accountability Project, Ballotpedia, The National 911 Program, North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, National Conference of State Legislatures, National Blue Alert System, Institute of Criminal Justice Training Reform, AP News and the Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation.
“Law-enforcement officers” includes police and sheriff’s patrol officers, detectives and criminal investigators.
For more information on WalletHub’s study, click here.
