This table compares the entry level and top-step pay for correctional officers. Also listed is the arrest authority of the correctional officers for the listed department. We intend on having the most current data, so if there is a blank, or the information appears incorrect, please contact us with the source data so we can keep it current and accurate.
| Agency Name | Arrest Authority | Sworn? | Starting Officer Pay | Top-step Officer Pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama Department of Corrections | Limited | Yes | $2,757 | $3,700 |
| Alaska Department of Corrections | $4,486 | $6,266 | ||
| Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation & Reentry | No | $3,802 | $4,581 | |
| Arkansas Department of Corrections | $3,143 | $3,506 | ||
| California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | General | Yes | $4,222 | $8,675 |
| Colorado Department of Corrections | Yes | $4,560 | $6,384 | |
| Connecticut Department of Correction | $3,647 | $4,053 | ||
| Delaware Department of Correction | General | Yes | $4,333 | $5,257 |
| Florida Department of Corrections | Limited | Yes | $3,813 | $6,224 |
| Georgia Department of Corrections | $3,337 | $4,025 | ||
| Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | No | $5,100 | $5,522 | |
| Idaho Department of Correction | General | Yes | $3,987 | $4,488 |
| Illinois Department of Corrections | $4,376 | $4,520 | ||
| Indiana Department of Correction | None | No | $3,250 | $5,009 |
| Iowa Department of Corrections | None | No | $4,160 | $5,500 |
| Kansas Department of Corrections | Limited | Yes | $3,165 | $3,482 |
| Kentucky Department of Corrections | Yes | $2,500 | $3,709 | |
| Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections | Yes | $3,033 | ||
| Maine Department of Corrections | $4,207 | $4,269 | ||
| Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services | Limited | Yes | $3,416 | $6,542 |
| Massachusetts Department of Correction | ||||
| Michigan Department of Corrections | None | $3,550 | $5,438 | |
| Minnesota Department of Corrections | ||||
| Mississippi Department of Corrections | ||||
| Missouri Department of Corrections | $2,406 | $3,592 | ||
| Montana Department of Corrections | ||||
| Nebraska Department of Correctional Services | ||||
| Nevada Department of Corrections | General | Yes | $4,583 | $7,500 |
| New Hampshire Department of Corrections | ||||
| New Jersey Department of Corrections | General | Yes | $3,833 | $8,833 |
| New Mexico Corrections Department | ||||
| New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision | General | Yes | $4,435 | $5,726 |
| North Carolina Department of Adult Correction | Limited | $2,761 | $3,969 | |
| North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | ||||
| Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction | None | No | $3,626 | |
| Oklahoma Department of Corrections | ||||
| Oregon Department of Corrections | $4,818 | $7,306 | ||
| Pennsylvania Department of Corrections | ||||
| Rhode Island Department of Corrections | General | Yes | $5,163 | $7,436 |
| South Carolina Department of Corrections | Limited | Yes | ||
| South Dakota Department of Corrections | ||||
| Tennessee Department of Correction | ||||
| Texas Department of Criminal Justice | $4,092 | $4,922 | ||
| Utah Department of Corrections | Yes | $4,975 | $6,363 | |
| Vermont Department of Corrections | ||||
| Virginia Department of Corrections | Limited | No | ||
| Washington State Department of Corrections | ||||
| West Virginia Division of Corrections & Rehabilitation | ||||
| Wisconsin Department of Corrections | $3,628 | $4,436 | ||
| Wyoming Department of Corrections | $3,581 | $3,980 | ||
| Bureau of Prisons (Federal) | Limited | Yes | $3,482 | $5,293 |
This listing of correctional officer pay was last updated using data from January 2024.
Please contact us if any of this data needs updating. Also please include where we can find the reference information to ensure correctness.
Rev Red
RIDOC Starts around $31/hr, general arrest authority, sworn peace officer status. I don’t have a current pay table though.
Can you please provide the source information? We are looking for penal codes or statutes that speak to the sworn status of correctional officers. Also the pay table would be helpful.
Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation & Correction starts at $20.92 per hour/$43,514.00 per year. Source: my contract book. I work for ODRC. We have no arrest powers/are not sworn LEO.
FLDOC starts at $22/h. After completing 12 weeks of training we are sworn LEOs with no arrest power.
Hey, Former Oregon Department of Corrections Officer here and now county deputy.
Oregon recently eliminated the first few pay steps, current starting pay is now salaried at 5,139 and tops out at 6832. If you work in the portland metro prisons and some Salem prisons (depending on which union your facility is), the starting salary is 5495 and tops out at 7306.
Oregon Department of Corrections Officers are NOT sworn and have 0 arrest authority. There is a separate Oregon Department of Corrections Transport unit which i believe has limited arrest authority but I never worked with them so don’t quote me on that.
I work in Oregon at a facility in eastern Oregon, our management tells us that we are sworn but have no powers of arrest. They say the oath you take at the academy graduation counts as the swearing in. It used to not be interpreted that way but there’s some policies which make reference to “sworn correctional officers” and certain job duties for those “sworn correctional officers”. Staff were refusing to do those duties because they were always told they weren’t sworn. Then the Dome Building swooped in and said the BCC graduation counts as a swearing in ceremony for the purpose of those job duties.
In all honesty I’m not sure what difference it makes because we still have no arrest authority except on escaped inmates per ORS 423.076. I think saying that counts as being sworn is just the management covering their butts. As for transport, they are commissioned as special state police officers under ORS 181A.060. Later this year they intend to expand it to all the SWAT team members too since transport never helps with hospital trips and other transports outside of business hours.
I think there is a lot of confusion regarding what it means to be “sworn” in the context of law enforcement. Just because you take an oath in the academy does not mean you have sworn status.
Every state calls their law enforcement folks something different. For example: In California they are called “peace officers” for example. You can be police, sheriff, corrections, or whatever, but what matters in California is your status as a peace officer.
Being “sworn” in the context of law enforcement generally means you have the power to make arrests, use force to uphold the law, and generally have had some state-mandated law enforcement training. Basically, within the law enforcement community being sworn means you have the vested authority to carry out the law (serve warrants), maintain public order (make arrests), and had to take an oath of office.