Is California the best state to be a police officer?

Based largely on compensation and training, California topped a WalletHub study as the best place to be a police officer in the United States.

The average monthly starting salary of a police officer in California is a little over $5,500, the fourth-highest wage in the country. Plus, the median annual wage for police and sheriff’s patrol officers is over $84,100 (adjusted for the cost of living) – also the third-highest nationwide, according to the study.

The Golden State requires rigorous training for officers, with 560 hours of field training required, the second-highest amount in the country.

To top things off, California requires officers to take de-escalation training, which reduces the chances of fatalities for both officers and suspects.

In order to determine the best states in which to pursue a law-enforcement career, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 30 key metrics. The data set ranges from the median income for law-enforcement officers to police deaths per 1,000 officers to state and local spending on police.

Best States to Be a Cop:

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Opportunity & Competition Rank	Law Enforcement Training Requirements Rank	Job Hazards & Protections Rank
1	California	61.87	5	2	12
2	Illinois	60.38	4	6	7
3	Connecticut	60.08	36	1	4
4	District of Columbia	56.47	1	3	48
5	Colorado	56.14	6	8	26
6	Maryland	54.81	42	7	5
7	Ohio	53.62	29	5	25
8	Minnesota	53.23	15	18	3
9	Washington	51.69	14	13	20
10	Massachusetts	51.27	26	12	14
11	Tennessee	50.96	12	4	45
12	New York	50.11	2	40	2
12	Texas	50.11	3	11	44
14	Rhode Island	49.11	32	21	8
15	Georgia	48.64	21	10	32
16	South Dakota	48.03	25	9	35
17	Maine	47.40	44	17	10
18	Pennsylvania	46.04	17	26	23
19	Oklahoma	45.77	8	15	46
20	Missouri	45.56	20	19	30
21	Utah	44.67	45	25	6
22	Virginia	44.62	16	28	21
23	Indiana	44.53	39	14	31
24	Wyoming	43.65	13	22	39
25	Michigan	43.63	22	23	33
26	North Carolina	43.59	30	27	19
27	Delaware	43.57	41	24	15
28	New Jersey	43.48	19	39	11
29	Nebraska	42.44	9	46	13
30	Iowa	42.42	28	30	18
31	New Hampshire	42.20	37	44	1
32	Florida	42.00	24	42	9
33	Arizona	41.81	10	32	28
34	Idaho	41.28	49	20	29
35	Vermont	39.65	40	38	16
36	North Dakota	39.45	18	49	17
37	New Mexico	39.36	7	16	51
38	Wisconsin	37.90	48	31	24
39	Kansas	37.76	33	34	34
40	South Carolina	37.67	27	33	37
41	Montana	36.66	31	35	36
42	Louisiana	34.86	11	43	47
43	Mississippi	34.62	35	37	43
44	Kentucky	34.55	46	29	38
45	Oregon	34.50	50	41	27
46	Alabama	33.66	23	47	41
47	West Virginia	33.26	34	45	40
48	Arkansas	32.05	43	36	50
49	Nevada	31.43	38	48	42
50	Hawaii	30.27	47	51	22
51	Alaska	26.20	51	50	49

New York and Texas tied for 12th with Illinois finishing 2nd among states with the nation’s largest metropolises.