OverviewSalaryAboutEducationWhere are the jobsEmploymentGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Guard inmates in penal or rehabilitative institutions in accordance with established regulations and procedures. May guard prisoners in transit between jail, courtroom, prison, or other point. Includes deputy sheriffs and police who spend the majority of their time guarding prisoners in correctional institutions.
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Titles for this career often contain these words
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Responsibilities and activities
Correctional officers typically do the following:
- Enforce rules and keep order within jails or prisons
- Supervise activities of inmates
- Inspect facilities to ensure that they meet security and safety standards
- Search inmates for contraband items
- Report on inmate conduct
- Escort and transport inmates
Bailiffs typically do the following:
- Ensure the security of the courtroom
- Enforce courtroom rules
- Follow court procedures
- Escort judges, jurors, witnesses, and prisoners
- Handle evidence and court documents
Inside the prison or jail, correctional officers enforce rules and regulations. They maintain security by preventing disturbances, assaults, and escapes, and by inspecting facilities. They check cells and other areas for unsanitary conditions, contraband, signs of a security breach (such as tampering with window bars and doors), and other rule violations. Officers also inspect mail and visitors for prohibited items. They write reports and fill out daily logs detailing inmate behavior and anything else of note that occurred during their shift.
Correctional officers may have to restrain inmates in handcuffs and leg irons to escort them safely to and from cells and to see authorized visitors. Officers also escort prisoners to courtrooms, medical facilities, and other destinations.
Bailiffs’ specific duties vary by court, but their primary duty is to maintain order and security in courts of law. They enforce courtroom procedures that protect the integrity of the legal process. For example, they ensure that attorneys and witnesses do not influence juries outside of the courtroom, and they also may isolate juries from the public in some circumstances. As a neutral party, they may handle evidence during court hearings to ensure that only permitted evidence is displayed.
Salary
Median salary: $47,410 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $37,950 and $63,290.
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for correctional officers and jailers
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
Number employed
About Correctional Officers and Jailers
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of correctional officers and jailers who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
- Unpleasant or Angry People (99%)
- Responsible for Others' Health (87%)
- Physically Aggressive People (83%)
- High Conflict Frequency (77%)
- Consequence of Error (76%)
- Time Pressure (75%)
- Exposed to Disease or Infections (64%)
- Exposed to Contaminants (44%)
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Correctional Officers and Jailers? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Decisionmaking skills
Correctional officers and bailiffs must use both their training and common sense to quickly determine the best course of action and to take the necessary steps to achieve a desired outcome.
Detail oriented
Correctional officers and bailiffs follow and enforce strict procedures in correctional facilities and courts to ensure everyone’s safety.
Interpersonal skills
Correctional officers and bailiffs must be able to interact and communicate effectively with inmates and others to maintain order in correctional facilities and courtrooms.
Negotiating skills
Correctional officers must be able to assist others in resolving differences in order to avoid conflict.
Physical strength
Correctional officers and bailiffs must have the strength to physically subdue inmates or others.
Self-discipline
Correctional officers must control their emotions when confronted with hostile situations.
Injury and Illness
About 175 correctional officers and jailers become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, making this job more dangerous than 91% of other careers. The most common specific illnesses or injuries are detailed following.
All multiple traumatic injuries
Bruises and contusions
Sprains, strains, tears
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by correctional officers and jailers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), correctional officers and jailers typically hold a high school diploma or equivalent.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as correctional officers and jailers as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for correctional officers and jailers
Correctional officers and bailiffs must have at least a high school diploma or equivalent.
For employment in federal prisons, the Federal Bureau of Prisons requires entry-level correctional officers to have at least a bachelor’s degree or 1 to 3 years of full-time experience in a field providing counseling, assistance, or supervision to individuals.
Education level of Correctional Officers and Jailers
Only 17% of correctional officers and jailers have a bachelor's degree or higher.
Education attained by correctional officers and jailers
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
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Programs recommended by the Department of Education
The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click a program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Correctional Officers and Jailers per 1,000 workers (ACS)
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most correctional officers and jailers? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as correctional officers and jailers. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where correctional officers and jailers earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
- In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for correctional officers and jailers compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
- Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for correctional officers and jailers.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which correctional officers and jailers earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Correctional Officers and Jailers (ACS)
Employment
3% of Correctional officers and jailers are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 3% part-time workers, this occupation has a lower percentage of part-time workers than 89% of careers.
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of correctional officers and jailers by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
Gender
Correctional officers and jailers and gender
With 27% women, this occupation has a lower percentage of women than 59% of careers.
Gender of Correctional officers and jailers
Men (73%)
Women (27%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
Context: Salary inequity
The median (middle) salary for all full-time male workers
in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women
by 19%, and the difference
for correctional officers and jailers tops that, with the median salary for
men 20% higher than the median
salary for women.
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Correctional officers and jailers
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Correctional officers and jailers.
Race/origin of correctional officers and jailers
White (67% )
Black (24% )
Other (3% )
Multiracial (2% )
Hispanic (1% )
Asian (1% )
American Indian (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
