Table 23
Full-time Law Enforcement Employees1
by Region and Geographic Division by Population Group
Number and Rate per 1,000 Inhabitants, 2016
Region/geographic division |
Total (10,126 cities; population 192,569,624) |
Group I (79 cities, 250,000 and over; population 59,221,977) |
Group II (200 cities, 100,000 to 249,999; population 29,632,582) |
Group III (433 cities, 50,000 to 99,999; population 30,220,472) |
Group IV (773 cities, 25,000 to 49,999; population 26,885,069) |
Group V (1,597 cities, 10,000 to 24,999; population 25,434,997) |
Group VI (7,044 cities, under 10,000; population 21,174,527) |
Total city agencies |
2016 estimated city population |
County2 (3,091 agencies; population 85,069,134) |
Total city and county agencies |
2016 estimated total agency population |
Suburban Areas3 (7,050 agencies; population 116,271,221) |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TOTAL | Number of employees | 543,105 | 199,810 | 63,555 | 62,534 | 57,020 | 57,987 | 102,199 | 10,126 | 192,569,624 | 390,037 | 13,217 | 277,638,758 | 434,964 |
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.8 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 3.7 | |||||
NORTHEAST | Number of employees | 150,352 | 66,610 | 8,428 | 15,399 | 18,309 | 18,553 | 23,053 | 2,628 | 45,116,740 | ||||
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 3.3 | 5.6 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 3.6 | |||||||
NEW ENGLAND | Number of employees | 34,056 | 2,678 | 4,468 | 6,281 | 7,068 | 6,931 | 6,630 | 795 | 12,871,266 | ||||
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.6 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 3.8 | |||||||
MIDDLE ATLANTIC | Number of employees | 116,296 | 63,932 | 3,960 | 9,118 | 11,241 | 11,622 | 16,423 | 1,833 | 32,245,474 | ||||
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 3.6 | 5.7 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 3.5 | |||||||
MIDWEST | Number of employees | 94,374 | 31,832 | 7,333 | 11,733 | 11,890 | 13,012 | 18,574 | 2,537 | 37,123,846 | ||||
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.5 | 3.7 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 3.3 | |||||||
EAST NORTH CENTRAL | Number of employees | 60,559 | 24,326 | 3,669 | 7,089 | 8,645 | 7,761 | 9,069 | 1,309 | 23,081,262 | ||||
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.6 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 3.1 | |||||||
WEST NORTH CENTRAL | Number of employees | 33,815 | 7,506 | 3,664 | 4,644 | 3,245 | 5,251 | 9,505 | 1,228 | 14,042,584 | ||||
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.4 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 3.6 | |||||||
SOUTH | Number of employees | 184,239 | 52,351 | 27,507 | 19,997 | 17,872 | 19,962 | 46,550 | 3,587 | 57,655,948 | ||||
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 6.9 | |||||||
SOUTH ATLANTIC | Number of employees | 89,129 | 23,469 | 12,958 | 10,855 | 9,079 | 9,520 | 23,248 | 1,635 | 24,823,862 | ||||
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 3.6 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 8.0 | |||||||
EAST SOUTH CENTRAL | Number of employees | 25,156 | 4,093 | 4,200 | 2,582 | 3,111 | 3,513 | 7,657 | 653 | 7,286,658 | ||||
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 6.3 | |||||||
WEST SOUTH CENTRAL | Number of employees | 69,954 | 24,789 | 10,349 | 6,560 | 5,682 | 6,929 | 15,645 | 1,299 | 25,545,428 | ||||
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 5.9 | |||||||
WEST | Number of employees | 114,140 | 49,017 | 20,287 | 15,405 | 8,949 | 6,460 | 14,022 | 1,374 | 52,673,090 | ||||
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.2 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 5.9 | |||||||
MOUNTAIN | Number of employees | 41,165 | 15,909 | 7,076 | 4,823 | 3,654 | 2,473 | 7,230 | 614 | 16,789,215 | ||||
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 6.1 | |||||||
PACIFIC | Number of employees | 72,975 | 33,108 | 13,211 | 10,582 | 5,295 | 3,987 | 6,792 | 760 | 35,883,875 | ||||
Average number of employees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2.0 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 5.7 |
- 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. 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, 2016
- In 2016, 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 2.5.
- Law enforcement agencies in cities in the West had a rate of 2.2 full-time law enforcement employees per 1,000 inhabitants.