An estimated 665,380 police and sheriff’s patrol officers are employed in the United States, according to May 2021 data. The vast majority of these officers work for local governments, with only about 10% working for state governments, and only a fraction working for universities, hospitals, schools, and other entities.
On average, there are about 2.4 police officers per 1,000 people and 3.4 civilian law enforcement personnel per 1,000 people. Considering the differences across states and urban population centers, police departments vary in size but often fall somewhere near the national average.
States like New York and Utah are vastly different by many measures and demographics, and their police departments reflect this. Within each state, too, population centers vary in size and require matching police departments. A small rural community does not need as large a police department as a large metropolitan area. And most states have at least one if not several large urban centers. (These are the most dangerous states to be a police officer.)
To find the largest police department in every state, 24/7 Wall St. referenced law enforcement employment data from the FBI’s 2021 Uniform Crime Reporting Program for 2021. We ranked each state in terms of its total of officers and civilians employed by a department. We excluded law enforcement agencies with greater jurisdictions than cities or counties, such as State Troopers and Highway Patrol.
It is important to note that this list is reflective of the departments that reported this data to the FBI. Several large cities do not report this data. In cases of the 50 largest cities in the United States that did not report to the FBI, we reviewed city budgets and other documents to best identify comparable city department sizes. Those cities include Philadelphia, Chicago, Columbus, and Indianapolis. For these cities we did not include police personnel per 1,000 population. (These are America’s most heavily policed cities.)
It is not surprising to find New York City and Los Angeles topping the list in New York and California, respectively. The two are the most populous and second-most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S. And while Ada, Idaho, and Polk, Iowa,may not be readily familiar, they respectively encompass Boise, Idaho’s largest city, and Des Moines, Iowa’s largest city.
Still, although these are the largest police departments in their respective states, the largest police department in Vermont is Burlington, which employs 99 police and civilians. Compare that to New York City’s police department employing over 50,000 personnel.
Here is a look at the largest police department in each state:
Alabama: Birmingham
> Total police personnel (2021): 951
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 4.6
> Total officers (2021): 756
> Total civilians (2021): 195
[in-text-ad]
Alaska: Anchorage
> Total police personnel (2021): 574
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.0
> Total officers (2021): 413
> Total civilians (2021): 161
24/7 Wall St.
Arizona: Phoenix
> Total police personnel (2021): 3,772
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.3
> Total officers (2021): 2795
> Total civilians (2021): 977
Arkansas: Little Rock
> Total police personnel (2021): 659
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.3
> Total officers (2021): 534
> Total civilians (2021): 125
[in-text-ad-2]
California: Los Angeles
> Total police personnel (2021): 15,286
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 16.6
> Total officers (2021): 9522
> Total civilians (2021): 5,764
Colorado: Denver
> Total police personnel (2021): 1,784
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.4
> Total officers (2021): 1447
> Total civilians (2021): 337
[in-text-ad]
Connecticut: Hartford
> Total police personnel (2021): 419
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.5
> Total officers (2021): 395
> Total civilians (2021): 24
24/7 Wall St.
Delaware: New Castle County Police Department
> Total police personnel (2021): 430
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 1.0
> Total officers (2021): 376
> Total civilians (2021): 54
Florida: Miami-Dade
> Total police personnel (2021): 4,154
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.6
> Total officers (2021): 3020
> Total civilians (2021): 1,134
[in-text-ad-2]
Georgia: Atlanta
> Total police personnel (2021): 2,095
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 4.0
> Total officers (2021): 1641
> Total civilians (2021): 454
Hawaii: Honolulu
> Total police personnel (2021): 2,437
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.5
> Total officers (2021): 1942
> Total civilians (2021): 495
[in-text-ad]
Idaho: Ada
> Total police personnel (2021): 551
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.7
> Total officers (2021): 190
> Total civilians (2021): 361
24/7 Wall St.
Illinois: Chicago
> Total police personnel (2021): 14,058
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): N/A
> Total officers (2021): 13108
> Total civilians (2021): 950
Indiana: Indianapolis
> Total police personnel (2021): 1,950
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): N/A
> Total officers (2021): 1700
> Total civilians (2021): 250
[in-text-ad-2]
Iowa: Polk
> Total police personnel (2021): 500
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 8.4
> Total officers (2021): 150
> Total civilians (2021): 350
Kansas: Johnson
> Total police personnel (2021): 651
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 24.4
> Total officers (2021): 484
> Total civilians (2021): 167
[in-text-ad]
Kentucky: Louisville Metro
> Total police personnel (2021): 1,320
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.0
> Total officers (2021): 1038
> Total civilians (2021): 282
Louisiana: Jefferson
> Total police personnel (2021): 1,273
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.9
> Total officers (2021): 858
> Total civilians (2021): 415
Maine: Portland
> Total police personnel (2021): 203
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.0
> Total officers (2021): 146
> Total civilians (2021): 57
[in-text-ad-2]
Maryland: Baltimore
> Total police personnel (2021): 2,843
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 4.8
> Total officers (2021): 2360
> Total civilians (2021): 483
Massachusetts: Boston
> Total police personnel (2021): 2,716
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.9
> Total officers (2021): 2184
> Total civilians (2021): 532
[in-text-ad]
Michigan: Detroit
> Total police personnel (2021): 3,100
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 4.6
> Total officers (2021): 2475
> Total civilians (2021): 625
Minnesota: Hennepin
> Total police personnel (2021): 824
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 94.8
> Total officers (2021): 321
> Total civilians (2021): 503
Mississippi: Jackson
> Total police personnel (2021): 416
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.7
> Total officers (2021): 278
> Total civilians (2021): 138
[in-text-ad-2]
Missouri: Kansas City
> Total police personnel (2021): 1,839
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.7
> Total officers (2021): 1286
> Total civilians (2021): 553
Montana: Yellowstone
> Total police personnel (2021): 187
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.8
> Total officers (2021): 60
> Total civilians (2021): 127
[in-text-ad]
Nebraska: Omaha
> Total police personnel (2021): 1,044
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.2
> Total officers (2021): 895
> Total civilians (2021): 149
Nevada: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
> Total police personnel (2021): 5,760
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.4
> Total officers (2021): 3994
> Total civilians (2021): 1,766
New Hampshire: Manchester
> Total police personnel (2021): 269
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.4
> Total officers (2021): 222
> Total civilians (2021): 47
[in-text-ad-2]
New Jersey: Jersey City
> Total police personnel (2021): 1,444
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 5.3
> Total officers (2021): 934
> Total civilians (2021): 510
New Mexico: Albuquerque
> Total police personnel (2021): 1,474
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.6
> Total officers (2021): 940
> Total civilians (2021): 534
[in-text-ad]
New York: New York
> Total police personnel (2021): 50,029
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 5.9
> Total officers (2021): 35047
> Total civilians (2021): 14,982
North Carolina: Charlotte-Mecklenburg
> Total police personnel (2021): 2,281
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.4
> Total officers (2021): 1734
> Total civilians (2021): 547
North Dakota: Fargo
> Total police personnel (2021): 199
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 1.6
> Total officers (2021): 180
> Total civilians (2021): 19
[in-text-ad-2]
Ohio: Columbus
> Total police personnel (2021): 2,100
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): N/A
> Total officers (2021): 1800
> Total civilians (2021): 300
Oklahoma: Oklahoma City
> Total police personnel (2021): 1,378
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.0
> Total officers (2021): 1105
> Total civilians (2021): 273
[in-text-ad]
Oregon: Portland
> Total police personnel (2021): 1,040
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 1.6
> Total officers (2021): 791
> Total civilians (2021): 249
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia
> Total police personnel (2021): 7,300
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): N/A
> Total officers (2021): 6500
> Total civilians (2021): 800
Rhode Island: Providence
> Total police personnel (2021): 533
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.9
> Total officers (2021): 449
> Total civilians (2021): 84
[in-text-ad-2]
South Carolina: Charleston
> Total police personnel (2021): 651
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 8.0
> Total officers (2021): 271
> Total civilians (2021): 380
South Dakota: Pennington
> Total police personnel (2021): 431
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 14.6
> Total officers (2021): 101
> Total civilians (2021): 330
[in-text-ad]
Tennessee: Memphis
> Total police personnel (2021): 2,446
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.8
> Total officers (2021): 2027
> Total civilians (2021): 419
Texas: Houston
> Total police personnel (2021): 6,249
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.7
> Total officers (2021): 5250
> Total civilians (2021): 999
Utah: Salt Lake City
> Total police personnel (2021): 627
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.0
> Total officers (2021): 490
> Total civilians (2021): 137
[in-text-ad-2]
Vermont: Burlington
> Total police personnel (2021): 99
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.3
> Total officers (2021): 69
> Total civilians (2021): 30
Virginia: Fairfax County Police Department
> Total police personnel (2021): 1,768
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 1.6
> Total officers (2021): 1430
> Total civilians (2021): 338
[in-text-ad]
Washington: Seattle
> Total police personnel (2021): 1,597
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.0
> Total officers (2021): 1178
> Total civilians (2021): 419
West Virginia: Charleston
> Total police personnel (2021): 180
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 4.0
> Total officers (2021): 157
> Total civilians (2021): 23
Wisconsin: Milwaukee
> Total police personnel (2021): 2,015
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.4
> Total officers (2021): 1654
> Total civilians (2021): 361
[in-text-ad-2]
Wyoming: Laramie
> Total police personnel (2021): 175
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 5.1
> Total officers (2021): 43
> Total civilians (2021): 132
Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With An Advisor Now (Sponsored)
Are you ready for retirement? Planning for retirement can be overwhelming, that’s why it could be a good idea to speak to a fiduciary financial advisor about your goals today.
Start by taking this retirement quiz right here from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes. Smart Asset is now matching over 50,000 people a month.
Click here now to get started.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
