Maryland named 2025's 5th-best state for police officers, WalletHub study

BALTIMORE, MD—With National Police Week starting on May 11 and the median annual salary for a police officer reaching over $77,000, the personal-finance website WalletHub this week released its report on 2025’s Best & Worst States to Be a Police Officer.

Maryland came in a No. 5 on the list this year. The state was ranked No. 6 last year and N0. 4 in 2023. California topped this year’s list, followed closely by Connecticut.

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

Life & Work for Cops in Maryland (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

Overall Rank: 5^th
18^th – Median Income for Law-Enforcement Officers (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
27^th – Median Income Growth for Law-Enforcement Officers
5^th – State & Local Police-Protection Expenses per Capita
20^th – Police Deaths per 1,000 Officers
9^th – Motor Vehicle Fatalities Per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Driven

“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.”

“California is the best state to be a police officer, and it has one of the highest per-capita spending on state and local police and public safety,” Lupo added. “The average monthly starting salary of a police officer in California is a little over $5,600, the fifth-highest wage 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, and it has ‘Blue Alerts’ which can help hasten the apprehension of suspects who injure or kill police officers.”

The full report can be viewed online here at WalletHub.