Study Finds Minnesota To Be A Great Place To Be A Police Officer

A recent study from financial website WalletHub has found the state of Minnesota to be among the best in the United States for police officers.

There are currently 800,000 police officers throughout the United States, including approximately 11,000 in Minnesota. The St. Cloud, Minnesota Police Department currently employs about 122 officers, per State of Minnesota resources.

HOW MUCH DO MINNESOTA POLICE OFFICERS MAKE?

There are few jobs on Earth riskier and more heroic than that of a police officer. With that being said, the mean annual wage for a police officer is currently $74,910 nationally. In St. Cloud, the advertised salary in a currently posted job listing is $36.04-50.40 per hour. 

WalletHub took a look at factors like opportunity and competition; training requirements and job hazards/protections in a quest to determine which states were the best, and worst, for police officers.

“Some states make protecting and serving the public in a law enforcement career more appealing than others, said WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo.  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. State-level policies like ‘red flag laws’ or ‘Blue Alerts’ also contribute to a better environment for police.”

HOW DID MINNESOTA FINISH?

Minnesota finished the study as the seventh-best place to be a police officer. The state's ranking was buoyed greatly by a #3 overall ranking in the 'job hazards/protections' category.

As far as the other two categories, Minnesota finished 19th in 'opportunity and competition' and 18th in the 'training requirements' category.

WHICH IS THE BEST STATE FOR COPS... AND WHICH IS WORST?

As it turns out, California is the very best state for police officers according to WalletHub! The Golden State ranked #2 in 'training requirements', #11 in 'opportunity and competition' and #12 in 'job hazards/protections.'

Following California was Connecticut (#1 in 'training requirements' and #2 in 'job hazards/protection' but #51 in 'opportunity and competition'); Illinois, Washington, DC and Maryland.

The five 'worst' states to be a police officer, per WalletHub, were Alaska; Hawaii; Nevada; Arkansas and Louisiana, respectively.