Table 70
Full-time Law Enforcement Employees1
by Region and Geographic Division by Population Group
Number and Rate per 1,000 Inhabitants, 2015
| Region/geographic division |
Total (10,075 cities; population 187,551,939) |
Group I (76 cities, 250,000 and over; population 56,116,904) |
Group II (195 cities, 100,000 to 249,999; population 28,956,838) |
Group III (419 cities, 50,000 to 99,999; population 29,206,031) |
Group IV (764 cities, 25,000 to 49,999; population 26,443,466) |
Group V (1,612 cities, 10,000 to 24,999; population 25,662,681) |
Group VI (7,009 cities, under 10,000; population 21,166,019) |
Total city agencies |
2015 estimated city population |
County2 (3,085 agencies; population 85,548,031) |
Total city and county agencies |
2015 estimated total agency population |
Suburban Areas3 (7,034 agencies; population 116,427,469) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | Number of employees | 519,134 | 183,302 | 63,094 | 59,540 | 56,074 | 57,693 | 99,431 | 10,075 | 187,551,939 | 394,027 | 13,160 | 273,099,970 | 429,617 |
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.8 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 3.7 | |||||
| NORTHEAST | Number of employees | 148,043 | 64,281 | 8,340 | 15,341 | 18,188 | 18,863 | 23,030 | 2,676 | 45,371,564 | ||||
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 3.3 | 5.4 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 3.5 | |||||||
| NEW ENGLAND | Number of employees | 34,360 | 2,689 | 4,449 | 6,262 | 6,987 | 7,250 | 6,723 | 832 | 13,220,257 | ||||
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.6 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 3.6 | |||||||
| MIDDLE ATLANTIC | Number of employees | 113,683 | 61,592 | 3,891 | 9,079 | 11,201 | 11,613 | 16,307 | 1,844 | 32,151,307 | ||||
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 3.5 | 5.5 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 3.4 | |||||||
| MIDWEST | Number of employees | 83,685 | 17,741 | 8,053 | 12,302 | 12,391 | 13,914 | 19,284 | 2,611 | 36,148,697 | ||||
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.3 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 3.4 | |||||||
| EAST NORTH CENTRAL | Number of employees | 51,330 | 10,132 | 4,815 | 7,965 | 9,342 | 8,654 | 10,422 | 1,448 | 22,615,127 | ||||
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.3 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 3.2 | |||||||
| WEST NORTH CENTRAL | Number of employees | 32,355 | 7,609 | 3,238 | 4,337 | 3,049 | 5,260 | 8,862 | 1,163 | 13,533,570 | ||||
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.4 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 3.6 | |||||||
| SOUTH | Number of employees | 176,675 | 53,548 | 26,676 | 16,871 | 17,053 | 18,730 | 43,797 | 3,452 | 54,978,984 | ||||
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 6.6 | |||||||
| SOUTH ATLANTIC | Number of employees | 85,018 | 23,727 | 13,074 | 9,189 | 8,106 | 8,821 | 22,101 | 1,544 | 23,116,445 | ||||
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 3.7 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 8.1 | |||||||
| EAST SOUTH CENTRAL | Number of employees | 29,747 | 6,893 | 3,962 | 2,360 | 3,765 | 3,928 | 8,839 | 757 | 8,809,884 | ||||
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 6.1 | |||||||
| WEST SOUTH CENTRAL | Number of employees | 61,910 | 22,928 | 9,640 | 5,322 | 5,182 | 5,981 | 12,857 | 1,151 | 23,052,655 | ||||
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 5.3 | |||||||
| WEST | Number of employees | 110,731 | 47,732 | 20,025 | 15,026 | 8,442 | 6,186 | 13,320 | 1,336 | 51,052,694 | ||||
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.2 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 6.1 | |||||||
| MOUNTAIN | Number of employees | 39,725 | 15,480 | 6,940 | 4,760 | 3,280 | 2,232 | 7,033 | 602 | 16,040,517 | ||||
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 6.4 | |||||||
| PACIFIC | Number of employees | 71,006 | 32,252 | 13,085 | 10,266 | 5,162 | 3,954 | 6,287 | 734 | 35,012,177 | ||||
| Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.0 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 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
Full-time Law Enforcement Employees, by Region and Geographic Division by Population Group, Number and Rate per 1,000 Inhabitants, 2015
- In 2015, 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.
- Law enforcement agencies in cities in the Northeast had a rate of 3.3 full-time law enforcement employees per 1,000 inhabitants.
- The rate of full-time law enforcement employees per 1,000 inhabitants was 3.2 in cities in the South.
- In cities in the Midwest, the rate of full-time law enforcement employees per 1,000 residents was 2.3.
- Law enforcement agencies in cities in the West had a rate of 2.2 full-time law enforcement employees per 1,000 inhabitants.
