Why are California Cops Paid So Much More than Cops Elsewhere? (Los Angeles: low crime, bankrupt)

[18Montclair]

So I was doing some research on the Census Website and came across the median salary for Law Enforcement in Cities.

Aside from LA and SD, Cops in some of CAs larger cities make a whole lot of money.

$80,000+ Across the US
Antioch, CA $100,000+
Baytown, TX $100,000+
Berkeley, CA $100,000+
Concord, CA $100,000+
Coral Springs, FL $100,000+
Dearborn, MI $100,000+
Framingham, MA $100,000+
Fremont, CA $100,000+
Garden Grove, CA $100,000+
Hayward, CA $100,000+
Hemet, CA $100,000+
Irving, TX $100,000+
Mountain View, CA $100,000+
New Rochelle, NY $100,000+
Oakland, CA $100,000+
Palmdale, CA $100,000+
Pleasanton, CA $100,000+
Providence, RI $100,000+
Redwood City, CA $100,000+
San Francisco, CA $100,000+
San Jose, CA $100,000+
San Mateo, CA $100,000+
Sunnyvale, CA $100,000+
Sunrise Manor, NV $100,000+
Thousand Oaks, CA $100,000+
Torrance, CA $100,000+
The Woodlands, TX $100,000+
Kent, WA $99,170
Vacaville, CA $95,951
Clovis, CA $95,395
Plymouth, MI $94,738
Tracy, CA $93,946
Irvine, CA $92,478
Grand Prarie, TX $90,075
Highlands Ranch, CO $92,036
San Marcos, CA $91,737
Camden, NJ $90,638
Cary, NC $90,635
Simi Valley, CA $91,574
Redondo Beach, CA $90,373
Carlsbad, CA $90,167
Mission Viejo, CA $90,104
Napa, CA $89,146
Murrieta, CA $88,445
Arlington, VA $88,297
Daly City, CA $88,064
Livermore, CA $87,915
Hoover, AL $87,629
Fontana, CA $87,154
Moreno Valley, CA $85,991
Frisco, TX $85,675
Temecula, CA $85,607
Newport Beach, CA $85,121
Quincy, MA $84,808
Lynn, MA $84,681
Visalia, CA $84,188
San Buenaventura, CA $82,817
Fairfield, CA $82,147
Long Beach, CA $81,656
Paradise, NV $81,642
Carrollton, TX $81,165
Sunrise, FL $80,753
Salinas, CA $80,490
Boston, MA $80,374
Anaheim, CA $80,144
Toms River, NJ $80,047
Ontario, CA $80,032
New Britain, CT $80,022

Major Cities
Seattle, WA $71,601
Sacramento, CA $70,145
Chicago, IL $67,544
New York, NY $62,220
Washington, DC $60,066
Kansas City, MO $56,953
San Diego, CA $56,784
Cincinnati, OH $56,555
Columbus, OH $56,526
Denver, CO $56,404
Los Angeles, CA $56,181
Milwaukee, WI $56,146
Philadelphia, PA $56,049
Las Vegas, NV $54,749
Minneapolis, MN $52,065
Memphis, TN $50,480
Houston, TX $50,239
Pittsburgh, PA $51,559
Dallas, TX $50,191
New Orleans, LA $49,465
Miami, FL $47,933
Cleveland, OH $46,713
Portland, OR $46,705
Phoenix, AZ $42,963
Charlotte, NC $42,069
Ft Worth, TX $40,842
Atlanta, GA $40,067
Nashville, TN $39,633
San Antonio, TX $37,381
Indianapolis, IN $37,015
St Louis, MO $34,194
Austin, TX $32,310

[bayarea-girl]

Is this real? Didn't know the large disparity. Maybe it is relevant to the cost of living. Or maybe they are paid more because of the high crime situations they might find themselves in and are jobs people don't want to do?

[BennyPhoenix]

Cost of living, more powerful unions, and generally higher risk.
You couldn't get people to police Los Angeles for $35,000; at least not quality officers.

[Donn2390]

I don't believe your charts. Those figures aren't for starting pastrol cops, they may be correct for a cop who has been working for years and have attained some rank, and who worked a lot of OT, but certainly not the norm...

[Jonotastic]

Look at the cost of living in California vs elsewhere. You can make $12/hour working at Inn and Out in San Francisco.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by bayarea-girl

Is this real? Didn't know the large disparity. Maybe it is relevant to the cost of living.

To a degree.

Or maybe they are paid more because of the high crime situations they might find themselves in and are jobs people don't want to do?

Would you rather be a cop in St. Louis, or Pleasanton? Or Mountain View?

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by Donn2390

I don't believe your charts. Those figures aren't for starting pastrol cops, they may be correct for a cop who has been working for years and have attained some rank, and who worked a lot of OT, but certainly not the norm...

Well, this is what the title of the table is:

FULL-TIME, YEAR-ROUND CIVILIAN EMPLOYED POPULATION 16 YEARS AND OVER WITH EARNINGS: Service occupations; Protective service occupations; Law enforcement workers including supervisors

Not really a list of entry level salaries but rather median earnings and that would include overtime I suppose.

[sav858]

SOME cops get paid way too much, that is ridiculous the disparity the exists between similar cities. You see crime ridden and very safe cities having the same median salary for cops. Like many other public unions, they just get to fleece the taxpayer b/c their cops and nobody can dare challenge them on anything. Not that I don't respect what they do but I don't see why some get paid so much more than others.

I'd be curious to know what the average wage was for cops in Vallejo before the city went bankrupt.

[18Montclair]

What I dont get is why cops in small suburbs with very low crime often get such high pay? Mountain View for example, is not safe because of excellent policing. No, its safe because its residents have a lower likelihood of commiting crimes.

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

What I dont get is why cops in small suburbs with very low crime often get such high pay? Mountain View for example, is not safe because of excellent policing. No, its safe because its residents have a lower likelihood of commiting crimes.

Good unions.