In new ranking of best states for police officers, how did Washington fare?
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- Washington placed No. 8 in WalletHub's 2026 list of best states for police officers.
- WalletHub ranked Washington No. 50 for law-enforcement officers per capita.
- Washington had the second-highest cost-of-living adjusted median officer income.
Washington has dragged in rankings of the number of police officers per capita — but a new report released Monday named it among the top states to be a cop.
The Evergreen State placed No. 8 in the list of best and worst states for pursuing a career in law enforcement, according to the report by personal finance company WalletHub. Washington moved up one spot from last year’s WalletHub ranking.
According to the 2026 findings, the best places for police were California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland and the District of Columbia, followed by Colorado and Minnesota. Louisiana came in at No. 47, followed by Arkansas, Nevada, Hawaii and, in last place, Alaska.
Researchers looked into 30 key indicators of police friendliness, including local and state spending on police protection and the number of officer deaths per 1,000 police.
Washington came in thirteenth place in two of three broader subrankings: law enforcement training requirements and opportunity and competition. It landed 15th in the job-hazards-and-protections subranking.
The WalletHub report put Washington at No. 50 for law-enforcement officers per capita, with Oregon coming in at No. 51. (Earlier this year, Washington ranked dead last for officers per capita among all states and the District of Columbia, per data from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.)
Yet the state fared well by WalletHub’s standards in other ways. Washington had the second-highest median income for officers adjusted for cost of living, behind only Illinois.
In Washington, police and sheriff’s patrol officers earn a median annual wage of $102,640, according to 2024 figures from the U.S. Department of Labor cited by career resource website CareerOneStop. Meanwhile, $76,290 was the national median yearly wage for those roles.
McClatchy asked the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs for its thoughts on WalletHub’s report. WASPC Executive Director Steven D. Strachan replied via email that such surveys have “no real substance,” and that the agency had no comment.
The Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs (WACOPS) told McClatchy in a statement that the state’s officers have worked hard to secure respectable salaries and strong labor protections, but that they still face unique challenges like chronic understaffing and underinvestment, leading them to feel “demoralized.”
“Until Washington works to meaningfully improve the environment for law enforcement — not just in salary, but in support, resources, and respect for the profession — recruiting and retaining officers will remain an uphill battle,” WACOPS continued. “Our peace officers deserve better, and so do the communities counting on them.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a statement from the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs.
This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "In new ranking of best states for police officers, how did Washington fare?."
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