Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Table 70

Full-time Law Enforcement Employees1

by Region and Geographic Division by Population Group

Number and Rate per 1,000 Inhabitants, 2014

Region/geographic division Total
(9,792
cities;
population
183,432,062)
Group I
(72 cities,
250,000 and
over;
population
55,946,176)
Group II
(192 cities,
100,000 to
249,999;
population
28,478,947)
Group III
(405 cities,
50,000 to
99,999;
population
28,000,451)
Group IV
(729 cities,
25,000 to
49,999;
population
25,123,097)
Group V
(1,579 cities,
10,000 to
24,999;
population
25,167,878)
Group VI
(6,815 cities,
under 10,000;
population
20,715,513)
Total
city
agencies
2014
estimated
city
population
County2
(2,864
agencies;
population
84,864,300)
Total city
and county
agencies
2014
estimated
total agency
population
Suburban Areas3
(6,730 agencies;
population
114,360,957)
TOTAL Number of employees 519,535 191,314 62,974 57,298 53,585 56,825 97,539 9,792 183,432,062 379,677 12,656 268,296,362 427,326
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.8 3.4 2.2 2.0 2.1 2.3 4.7 4.5 3.7
NORTHEAST Number of employees 144,740 63,744 8,601 15,030 17,504 18,445 21,416 2,517 44,303,475
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 3.3 5.4 3.0 2.3 2.2 2.1 3.4
NEW ENGLAND Number of employees 34,371 2,710 4,507 6,222 7,041 7,202 6,689 791 13,015,911
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.6 4.1 3.0 2.3 2.2 2.2 3.9
MIDDLE ATLANTIC Number of employees 110,369 61,034 4,094 8,808 10,463 11,243 14,727 1,726 31,287,564
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 3.5 5.5 3.0 2.3 2.2 2.0 3.3
MIDWEST Number of employees 93,026 31,028 7,549 11,698 11,028 13,083 18,640 2,527 36,995,395
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.5 3.5 2.0 1.8 1.9 2.0 3.3
EAST NORTH CENTRAL Number of employees 60,083 23,124 4,330 7,418 8,025 7,755 9,431 1,322 23,462,944
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.6 3.7 2.1 1.9 1.9 2.0 3.1
WEST NORTH CENTRAL Number of employees 32,943 7,904 3,219 4,280 3,003 5,328 9,209 1,205 13,532,451
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.4 3.1 1.9 1.7 1.9 2.1 3.6
SOUTH Number of employees 169,441 47,478 27,025 16,122 16,524 18,689 43,603 3,374 51,013,291
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 3.3 3.1 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.9 6.6
SOUTH ATLANTIC Number of employees 81,897 21,902 13,136 8,459 7,983 8,730 21,687 1,430 21,774,071
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 3.8 3.9 2.7 2.7 2.9 3.0 8.1
EAST SOUTH CENTRAL Number of employees 29,705 6,351 4,721 2,568 3,444 3,597 9,024 794 8,677,869
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 3.4 2.8 3.4 2.8 2.6 3.0 5.8
WEST SOUTH CENTRAL Number of employees 57,839 19,225 9,168 5,095 5,097 6,362 12,892 1,150 20,561,351
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.8 2.6 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.6 5.4
WEST Number of employees 112,328 49,064 19,799 14,448 8,529 6,608 13,880 1,374 51,119,901
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.2 2.4 1.7 1.6 1.7 2.0 6.0
MOUNTAIN Number of employees 40,273 16,675 6,839 3,913 3,360 2,556 6,930 608 16,150,237
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.5 2.5 2.0 1.9 1.9 2.3 6.2
PACIFIC Number of employees 72,055 32,389 12,960 10,535 5,169 4,052 6,950 766 34,969,664
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants 2.1 2.4 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.9 5.8
  • 1 Full-time law enforcement employees include civilians.
  • 2 The designation county is a combination of both metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties.
  • 3 Suburban areas include law enforcement agencies in cities with less than 50,000 inhabitants and county law enforcement agencies that are within a Metropolitan Statistical Area (see Data Declaration). Suburban areas exclude all metropolitan agencies associated with a principal city. The agencies associated with suburban areas also appear in other groups within this table.

Data Declaration

Provides the methodology used in constructing this table and other pertinent information about this table.

Overview

Download Printable Document

Full-time Law Enforcement Employees, by Region and Geographic Division by Population Group, Number and Rate per 1,000 Inhabitants, 2014

  • In 2014, law enforcement agencies in U.S. cities reported an average of 2.8 full-time law enforcement employees (including both sworn officers and civilians) per 1,000 inhabitants.
  • The rate of full-time law enforcement employees in cities in the Northeast and the South was 3.3 per 1,000 inhabitants in each region.
  • In cities in the Midwest, the rate of full-time law enforcement employees was 2.5 per 1,000 inhabitants.
  • The rate of full-time law enforcement employees in cities in the West was 2.2 per 1,000 inhabitants.