Correctional Officer and Jailer Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Correctional Officers and Jailers earn a median of $58,940 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 16% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $28.34/hr. The middle half earn between $48,640 and $75,850. The top 10% earn $93,220 or more.

The median hourly wage for correctional officers and jailers is $28.34 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $58,940 annual median works out to about $4,910 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of correctional officers and jailers earn less than $42,760 a year and the bottom quarter less than $48,640 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

Rarely. Even the 90th percentile is $93,220, so fewer than 10% of correctional officers and jailers earn $100,000 or more (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No state's median reaches $100,000; the highest is California at $96,370.

The highest state medians for Correctional Officers and Jailers are California ($96,370), New Jersey ($94,770), Massachusetts ($86,310) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, New Jersey moves to the top at $87,101.

BLS does not split correctional officers and jailers' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $93,220, against a median of $58,940 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are California ($96,370), New Jersey ($94,770), Massachusetts ($86,310).

No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Correctional Officers and Jailers. BLS also lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 92.4% hold high school diploma or the equivalent (such as a ged).

No. BLS projects employment to fall 7.4% over 2025–2035, a loss of 29,500 jobs (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 28,400 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Correctional officers guard people in penal institutions and guard those in transit between jail, courtroom, prison, or other point. A core O*NET task: participate in required job training. Employers most often ask for Data base user interface and query software, Document management software, Electronic mail software.

Yes, for most. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 43% of correctional officers and jailers usually work more than 40 hours a week, 52% work exactly 40 and 5% work fewer. 88% say their schedule is regular and 12% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Correctional Officers and Jailers highest on the Realistic, Conventional and Social interest areas, so the work mixes hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISFJ, ESTJ, ISTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

An academy of a few weeks to a few months, then on-the-job training alongside experienced officers. Academy length is set by each state and agency. Federal officers are hired against GS qualification standards rather than a state academy, so the federal timeline is driven by the USAJOBS announcement cycle and the background investigation rather than by classroom hours.

Yes, and it is issued by the state you work in, not nationally. There is no national licence. Some states require correctional officers to complete state certification, and BLS directs candidates to their state's public safety or corrections agency to find out. What differs state to state is substantial: whether certification exists at all, whether it is granted by the same commission that certifies police officers, whether there is a statewide certification exam, the minimum age (usually between 18 and 21), and whether the employing agency can hire you on a temporary authorisation before you are certified, as Florida allows under s. 943.131(1). The federal path differs more sharply still: a bachelor's degree or qualifying counseling, assistance or supervision experience, and a federal law enforcement maximum entry age, with the Department of Justice able under Policy Statement 1200.07 to make exceptions up to the day preceding an applicant's 40th birthday.

The SOCE (State Officer Certification Examination). Florida's example of a statewide certification exam that correctional officers must pass, not only police officers. It is taken after completing a Commission-approved Basic Recruit Training Program (or after an approved equivalency-of-training exemption), is administered on demand at authorised Pearson VUE sites, costs $100, and is limited to three attempts under s. 943.1397, Florida Statutes. Most states do not use a single statewide exam like this, so check whether yours does before assuming the academy is the last hurdle.

Women make up 25.8% of correctional officers and jailers, against 47.1% of all employed people: more men than in the workforce as a whole. Only 14.5% are 55 or older (23.2% across all jobs): a young workforce. The median worker is 39.9 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.