Police officers in Oklahoma earn less than the national average salary for their field.
While the national median annual salary was about $52,587, the 8,020 police and sheriff's patrol officers working in Oklahoma in 2013 earned a mean annual salary of $42,720,
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That comes out to $20.54 an hour, the BLS said.
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First-line supervisors of police and detectives earned a mean annual salary of $68,400 in Oklahoma, the BLS added.
In Tulsa, one of the state's larger cities, police officers earned salaries ranging from $45,962
to $67,286, TulsaPolice.org reported. As they moved up in the ranks, their salaries increased; for instance, a sergeant in Tulsa earns between $64,395 and $78,377.
Tulsa police officers also can make additional money based on their educational levels. A bachelor's degree earns the officers $100 more per month, and taking advantage of continuing educational opportunities can add $600 per year to their salaries.
In Oklahoma City, another metropolitan area, officers were paid between $52,972 and $60,593. They are eligible to earn extra bilingual pay of $50 and $100 per
pay period, the city's government website noted.
Just as in Tulsa, OKC police officers earn more based on their educational levels, and the police department offers college tuition reimbursement programs. Officers earn $150 more per month for a bachelor's degree, and $175 per month for a master's.
State police officers in Oklahoma are paid with a seven-step pay scale, beginning at $38,000 annually and moving to $57,028
annually, according to LawEnforcementedu.net.
Nationwide, there were an estimated more than 12,000 police departments with a total of 477,000 sworn officers with general arrest powers working in all 50 states
in 2013, according to the BLS.
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