Guide Rankings Government & Politics Updated June 20, 2026

Police Officers Per Capita by State

Sworn police officers in uniform standing outside a police precinct

Police Officers Per Capita by State

Ranking - Government & Politics

Police staffing varies sharply by state, from 39.2 sworn officers per 10,000 residents in New Jersey to 12.9 in Oregon. The national average is about 23 per 10,000, leaving a wide gap between the Northeast's most heavily staffed states and the Pacific Northwest's leanest.

Quick Answer

Police Officers Per Capita by State

  1. 1

    New Jersey has the most sworn police officers per capita at 39.2 per 10,000 residents, the only state above 35. New York (33.8) and Louisiana (30.4) rank second and third.

  2. 2

    Oregon ranks last at 12.9 sworn officers per 10,000 residents. Washington (13.5) and Minnesota (14.3) are next lowest. All three fall more than 9 points below the national average of approximately 23 per 10,000.

  3. 3

    The national average is approximately 23 sworn officers per 10,000 residents. New Jersey's 39.2 is 70% above that figure; Oregon's 12.9 is 44% below it. The spread between top and bottom is 26.3 points.

Map

Police Officers Per Capita by State Map

Officers per 10,000 Residents
No data
New Jersey (39.2), New York (33.8), and Louisiana (30.4) appear in deep navy at the top of the scale. Oregon (12.9), Washington (13.5), and Minnesota (14.3) are the three lightest states, each below 15 officers per 10,000 residents.
Police Officers Per Capita by State Map
Rank State Officers per 10,000 Residents
1 New Jersey 39.2
2 New York 33.8
3 Louisiana 30.4
4 Maryland 28.5
5 Delaware 27
6 Illinois 26.1
7 Massachusetts 25.2
8 Connecticut 24.7
9 Mississippi 24.4
10 Rhode Island 24.2
11 Alabama 24
12 West Virginia 23.8
13 Pennsylvania 23.5
14 Tennessee 23.2
15 Ohio 22.9
16 South Carolina 22.6
17 Virginia 22.3
18 Arkansas 22.1
19 Missouri 21.9
20 Florida 21.6
21 Kentucky 21.3
22 Georgia 21
23 Texas 20.7
24 Nevada 20.4
25 California 20.2
26 Michigan 20
27 North Carolina 19.8
28 Indiana 19.5
29 Oklahoma 19.3
30 New Mexico 19.1
31 Wyoming 18.9
32 Wisconsin 18.6
33 North Dakota 18.4
34 Iowa 18.2
35 Kansas 18
36 Vermont 17.8
37 Nebraska 17.5
38 South Dakota 17.3
39 Alaska 17.1
40 New Hampshire 16.8
41 Hawaii 16.5
42 Colorado 16.2
43 Arizona 16
44 Maine 15.7
45 Montana 15.4
46 Idaho 15.1
47 Utah 14.7
48 Minnesota 14.3
49 Washington 13.5
50 Oregon 12.9

New Jersey (39.2), New York (33.8), and Louisiana (30.4) appear in deep navy at the top of the scale. Oregon (12.9), Washington (13.5), and Minnesota (14.3) are the three lightest states, each below 15 officers per 10,000 residents.

Police Officers Per Capita by State Table

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Most and Fewest Police Officers Per Capita by State

Highest

39.2
New Jersey flag
New Jersey #1

Lowest

12.9
Oregon flag
Oregon #50

Top 10 Highest — Officers per 10,000

#1 New Jersey flag New Jersey
39.2
#2 New York flag New York
33.8
#3 Louisiana flag Louisiana
30.4
#4 Maryland flag Maryland
28.5
#5 Delaware flag Delaware
27.0
#6 Illinois flag Illinois
26.1
#7 Massachusetts flag Massachusetts
25.2
#8 Connecticut flag Connecticut
24.7
#9 Mississippi flag Mississippi
24.4
#10 Rhode Island flag Rhode Island
24.2

Top 10 Lowest — Officers per 10,000

#50 Oregon flag Oregon
12.9
#49 Washington flag Washington
13.5
#48 Minnesota flag Minnesota
14.3
#47 Utah flag Utah
14.7
#46 Idaho flag Idaho
15.1
#45 Montana flag Montana
15.4
#44 Maine flag Maine
15.7
#43 Arizona flag Arizona
16.0
#42 Colorado flag Colorado
16.2
#41 Hawaii flag Hawaii
16.5

State with the Most Police Officers Per Capita

Police car parked on a dense urban street
New Jersey's unusually high officer density reflects its fragmented local-government structure, with hundreds of municipalities and many independent police departments packed into a small, heavily urbanized state.

New Jersey's 39.2 officers per 10,000 residents is the highest of any state and stands 5.4 points above New York (33.8) at rank 2. That single gap between ranks 1 and 2 is larger than the combined difference between ranks 2 and 14 on a per-step basis. No other adjacent pair in the table comes close to that spread at the top.

Ranks 3 through 13, from Louisiana (30.4) down to Pennsylvania (23.5), cover 6.9 points across 11 states, averaging 0.6 points per rank. New Jersey's lead over the field is structural: the state has more than 400 independent municipalities, most of which operate their own police department.

States with the Fewest Police Per Capita

Patrol car parked outside a police station entrance
The lowest-staffed states cluster tightly together at the bottom of the ranking. Oregon, Washington, and Minnesota all operate with fewer than 15 sworn officers per 10,000 residents, well below the national norm.

Oregon (12.9), Washington (13.5), and Minnesota (14.3) are the three states below 15 officers per 10,000 residents. All three rank more than 9 points below the national average of approximately 23. Utah (14.7) and Idaho (15.1) are 4th and 5th lowest and also fall below 15.5.

The bottom 8 states, from Oregon through Maine, form a compact cluster between 12.9 and 15.7, a range of just 2.8 points. Above rank 44 (Maine at 15.7), the table opens into the broader middle band, with 36 states between 16.0 and 30.4.

Police Officers Per Capita in Large States

Multiple police patrol cars lined up on a major city street
Even the country's biggest states do not necessarily rank near the top. California and Texas both sit near the middle of the table, showing that total population and per-capita staffing are very different measures.

California (20.2, rank 25) and Texas (20.7, rank 23) are the two most populous states in the country, yet both land just below the national average of 23 per 10,000. California sits between Nevada (20.4, rank 24) and Michigan (20.0, rank 26), surrounded by mid-size states.

Florida, the third most populous state, ranks 20th at 21.6, also below the national average. New York (33.8, rank 2) is the only state among the four largest by population that ranks in the top half of the table.

Quick Answers

What state has the most police officers per capita?
New Jersey has the most sworn police officers per capita at 39.2 per 10,000 residents. New York (33.8) ranks second and Louisiana (30.4) ranks third. New Jersey's figure is 70% above the national average of approximately 23 per 10,000.
What state has the fewest police officers per capita?
Oregon has the fewest sworn officers per capita at 12.9 per 10,000 residents. Washington (13.5) ranks 49th and Minnesota (14.3) ranks 48th. All three fall more than 9 points below the national average.
What is the national average for police officers per capita?
The national average is approximately 23 sworn officers per 10,000 residents, based on FBI Crime Data Explorer figures for state and local law enforcement. Twenty-seven states fall below that threshold, including all 8 states in the bottom tier of this table.
How many police officers per capita does New York have?
New York has 33.8 sworn officers per 10,000 residents, ranking 2nd nationally. New York City's police force alone is one of the largest in the world, pulling the statewide average well above the national figure of approximately 23 per 10,000.
How many police officers per capita does California have?
California ranks 25th with 20.2 sworn officers per 10,000 residents, just below the national average of approximately 23. Despite having the largest population of any state, California's per-capita police staffing is near the midpoint of the table.
How many police officers per capita does Texas have?
Texas ranks 23rd with 20.7 sworn officers per 10,000 residents, also slightly below the national average. Texas and California are the two most populous states in the country and both land in ranks 23 to 25, near the center of the distribution.
What does sworn officer mean?
A sworn officer is a law enforcement employee with full arrest authority, a badge, and the legal power to use force. The category includes police officers, deputy sheriffs, detectives, and state troopers; it excludes civilian staff such as dispatchers, analysts, and administrative personnel. Only sworn officers are counted in this ranking.

Methodology

Figures represent full-time sworn law enforcement officers (those with arrest authority) per 10,000 residents, including local police, county sheriffs' deputies, and state police; federal officers, civilian staff, and Washington, D.C. are excluded. Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, Law Enforcement Employees survey, approximately 2022.

Sources

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.
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