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Report ranks best and worst states to be a police officer

The report also broke rankings down into more granular categories

Does geography make a difference in police life? Read columnist Joel Shults’ take on the report here.

By Police1 Staff

WASHINGTON — Where’s the best place to be if you’re a cop? Which states should you avoid? According to a new report by WalletHub, the answers may surprise you.

The company came up with its ranking of the best and worst states to be a police officer using a combination of 30 indicators of “police-friendliness,” including categories such as opportunity and competition, training requirements and job hazards.

The top five locations were Connecticut, California, Illinois, D.C. and Maryland. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mississippi, West Virginia, Alaska, Hawaii and Arkansas made up the bottom five.

The report also broke rankings down into more granular categories. Among those highlights, WalletHub found the highest median income for LEOs (adjusted for cost of living) were in Illinois, Washington state, New Jersey, Alaska and Michigan.

For further insights from the report, including the states with the highest police-protection expenses per capita, lowest violent crime rate and more, visit WalletHub.

NEXT: Do you want to protect and serve your community? Here’s how to become a police officer

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