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Pay by state · 53 areas

Custom and Border Protection Officer Salary by State (2026)

Customs and Border Protection Officers earn the most in California at $118,880 a year and the least in Mississippi at $46,140 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $76,210. The table below covers all 50 states, DC, Guam and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$118,880California
National median
$76,210BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$46,140Mississippi
Areas reporting
53of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for customs and border protection officers

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

  1. 1California$118,880
  2. 2Washington$102,080
  3. 3Illinois$100,520
  4. 4Alaska$99,130
  5. 5Colorado$97,350

Lowest median pay

  1. 1Mississippi$46,140
  2. 2Arkansas$47,670
  3. 3Louisiana$48,380
  4. 4Alabama$51,270
  5. 5West Virginia$56,960

All states

Custom and Border Protection Officer salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of customs and border protection officers OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1CACalifornia
$118,880
$97,280$126,78065,940$107,370
2WAWashington
$102,080
$92,930$118,4809,160$95,390
3ILIllinois
$100,520
$76,480$107,81029,180$100,562
4AKAlaska
$99,130
$78,810$126,4801,260$96,845
5COColorado
$97,350
$76,640$102,6209,610$94,467
6DEDelaware
$92,970
$75,550$102,5301,800$93,149
7NYNew York
$92,790
$57,180$107,08053,470$85,980
8NJNew Jersey
$92,610
$67,070$117,80021,780$85,116
9DCDistrict of Columbia
$88,650
$77,210$107,3604,720$80,664
10OROregon
$88,140
$78,170$98,6505,030$85,274
11PAPennsylvania
$85,470
$63,080$96,97026,510$87,597
12HIHawaii
$83,820
$82,640$108,1102,420$76,234
13MNMinnesota
$83,360
$75,750$98,4309,160$84,526
14CTConnecticut
$82,170
$77,500$93,5206,500$79,307
15MAMassachusetts
$78,940
$71,970$97,39017,040$74,643
16AZArizona
$78,880
$68,550$96,80012,010$78,350
17NVNevada
$78,140
$76,010$101,2605,720$78,156
18WIWisconsin
$78,090
$67,450$84,85012,320$82,991
19MDMaryland
$77,970
$66,300$95,9909,720$74,286
20UTUtah
$77,310
$64,520$94,1505,500$78,198
21RIRhode Island
$77,230
$69,370$91,6201,940$75,508
22OHOhio
$77,020
$62,700$90,39023,430$83,019
23TXTexas
$75,900
$61,240$93,80063,100$78,201
24NENebraska
$74,620
$63,170$93,4803,490$82,816
25NDNorth Dakota
$74,500
$62,670$78,0501,630$83,746
26FLFlorida
$74,470
$60,520$93,46043,630$72,012
27IAIowa
$74,470
$63,810$86,1605,130$84,854
28MIMichigan
$73,730
$60,410$80,17016,750$76,629
29INIndiana
$73,370
$60,710$84,82012,980$78,614
30NHNew Hampshire
$71,640
$61,480$77,0102,460$68,776
31MTMontana
$70,050
$59,860$77,5002,160$74,013
32NMNew Mexico
$69,180
$58,870$73,4304,580$75,023
33VTVermont
$68,910
$59,680$79,0801,020$70,346
34MEMaine
$67,050
$61,230$76,5502,120$69,088
35IDIdaho
$66,990
$58,090$83,5602,810$70,151
36WYWyoming
$66,140
$59,640$73,6501,310$71,355
37VAVirginia
$65,870
$58,140$78,48019,970$65,151
38GUGuam
$62,130
$47,150$85,430540N/A
39SDSouth Dakota
$60,740
$52,330$72,0002,000$68,566
40KYKentucky
$60,490
$47,940$68,9907,890$67,093
41OKOklahoma
$59,700
$45,250$78,5809,660$67,962
42MOMissouri
$59,460
$46,760$75,93013,570$65,472
43NCNorth Carolina
$59,300
$49,460$72,70022,370$62,867
44TNTennessee
$59,280
$48,710$75,41015,630$64,526
45KSKansas
$59,230
$48,670$71,9506,130$65,761
46GAGeorgia
$58,120
$48,290$63,27022,170$60,357
47SCSouth Carolina
$58,070
$48,570$68,19012,930$61,942
48WVWest Virginia
$56,960
$48,950$61,3302,900$63,645
49ALAlabama
$51,270
$44,260$63,09011,710$57,722
50LALouisiana
$48,380
$43,090$59,44012,400$54,848
51ARArkansas
$47,670
$40,100$56,7205,710$54,833
52MSMississippi
$46,140
$37,270$54,4508,070$53,063
53PRPuerto Rico
$45,510
$34,320$48,15011,640N/A

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For customs and border protection officers, the adjustment does not change the leader: California is first on raw pay and still first once prices are taken into account, at $107,370.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Custom and Border Protection Officer pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays customs and border protection officers the most?

California reports the highest median wage for customs and border protection officers at $118,880 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($102,080) and Illinois ($100,520).

Which state pays customs and border protection officers the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, Mississippi reports the lowest median for customs and border protection officers at $46,140 a year, $72,740 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, Guam reports $62,130 and Puerto Rico reports $45,510.

In which states do customs and border protection officers earn over $100,000?

3 of the 50 states and DC have a median of $100,000 or more: California ($118,880), Washington ($102,080) and Illinois ($100,520) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Is the highest-paying state the best for customs and border protection officers after cost of living?

Yes. California stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $107,370 in national-average dollars from a raw $118,880. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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