How Much Do Correctional Officers Make? CO Salary Calculator

Correctional officers and jailers earned a median salary of $58,940 in May 2025 — $28.34 an hour — according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' count of 380,500. The bottom tenth earned under $42,760 and the top tenth over $93,220. Required overtime, common in facilities that run around the clock, is not in these figures.

Correctional officers: pay at every level

This is the BLS line for correctional officers and jailers (SOC 33-3012), at state, local and federal facilities and private contractors. Bailiffs and first-line supervisors are separate lines. Overtime, which the OOH says officers may be required to work, is excluded (BLS OEWS FAQ). Take-home assumes a single filer with 2026 federal tax and FICA and no state tax.

Correctional officer pay by state

State matters enormously. California pays $96,370 at the median, followed by New Jersey ($94,770) and Massachusetts ($86,310), while Mississippi ($38,720) and Louisiana ($39,850) pay less than half as much. Texas employs the most officers, 44,700, at $52,670; New York pays $76,820 and Florida $49,710.

Which employers pay correctional officers most

The federal government pays correctional officers the most, $74,630, though it employs 4% of them. State governments ($59,990), which employ 52%, and local governments ($58,500), 40%, are close together; facilities support services, the private contractors, pay $46,910 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).

A correctional officer's schedule

Jail and prison security runs 24 hours a day, so correctional officers work shifts covering every hour, weekends and holidays, and may be required to work overtime. State governments employ 52% of correctional officers and jailers, local governments 40% and the federal government 4%. Confrontations with people in custody give the job one of the highest injury rates of any occupation (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).

Overtime for correctional officers

State and local agencies can pay correctional officers on the 7(k) work-period rule for law enforcement: the law expressly includes security personnel in correctional institutions who control and maintain custody of inmates (29 CFR 553.211(f)). Under 7(k), overtime is due after 171 hours in a 28-day work period, or the same proportion of a shorter period of 7 to 27 days, instead of after 40 in a week (DOL Fact Sheet #8). Agencies with fewer than five law enforcement employees can be exempt from overtime altogether.

When correctional officers reach overtime under 7(k)

Under the 7(k) rule the overtime line depends on the length of the agency's work period, from 7 to 28 days. The table gives that line for common periods (171 hours in 28 days, in proportion for shorter ones), what that line averages per week, and the straight-time pay for it at the BLS median. Hours past the line earn time and a half.

Training, licenses and pay

Correctional officers typically need a high school diploma and complete a training academy covering self-defense, policies, regulations and security, then may shadow experienced officers. Many agencies set a minimum age between 18 and 21. The Federal Bureau of Prisons requires a bachelor's degree or several years of experience in counseling, assistance or supervision for entry-level officers. Officers can advance to sergeant, lieutenant or captain, or move to specialized units (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).

Related tools and guides

More ways to work with your correctional officer pay:

• Overtime pay calculator
• Overtime vs side hustle calculator
• Side hustles for veterans
• Take-home pay calculator (2026 federal tax)
• Hourly pay by job: all the BLS pay calculators