Police and sheriff's patrol officers working in Arizona earned an average annual salary of $58,900,
according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released in May 2014. That amount is slightly less than the national average of $59,560.
The state had 12,110 men and women working in those positions.
Their mean hourly wage was $28.32. By contrast, police supervisors and detectives in the state earned a mean annual salary of about $86,300, the BLS said. The average salary for correctional officers and jailers was $39,710.
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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 Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Average salaries vary widely by location.
Salary.com put the national median annual salary for uniformed patrol officers at about $52,587.
In Flagstaff, police officers and 911 dispatchers will get housing assistance from a $90,000 program the city council approved this year,
The Associated Press reported.
"Most are recent college graduates. They're trying to pay off their student loans, start a family, buy a house. Flagstaff's high cost of living limits their options," Flagstaff Deputy Police Chief Musselman told the AP.
The program, which will pay up to $7,000 for a down payment or closing costs on a new home, is an effort to help stem flow of officers leaving for higher salaries and lower cost of living elsewhere. The department saw 38 officers leave in 2013 and 2014.
During their last labor negotiations, public-safety employees in Tempe got a 9 percent increase in their total compensation, factoring in benefits,
The Arizona Republic reported.
Base pay for police officers in the city ranges from $56,742 to $76,694,
according to the city’s website.
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