Correctional Officer Salary: Pay and Take-Home by State

Correctional Officer pay range

The average (mean) is $63,630 a year ($30.59 an hour), above the median because a minority of high earners pull it up. *Take-home after federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer in a state with no income tax (2026). Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, occupation 33-3012. Source

Correctional Officer salary by state

The highest median pay for correctional officers is in California ($96,370), New Jersey ($94,760), Massachusetts ($86,300), Oregon ($83,700), Washington ($79,460). The lowest is in Mississippi ($38,730), Louisiana ($39,850), Arkansas ($40,330).

The most correctional officers work in Texas (44,700), California (37,860), New York (27,770).

After each state's taxes, the most take-home at the local median is in New Jersey ($70,372), California ($70,184), Massachusetts ($65,380), Washington ($63,628), Nevada ($62,634). A state with no income tax can come out ahead of a state that pays more before tax.

Median pay in each state for this job (BLS, May 2025), and take-home at that pay. Take-home is after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and the state's income tax and payroll programs, for a single filer with a 2026 W-4 and no deductions. Local taxes are not included. *District of Columbia: federal taxes only (DC income tax is not modeled yet).

Overtime and pay rules for correctional officers

Public agencies can pay correctional officers overtime on a law enforcement work period of 7 to 28 days instead of a 40-hour week (171 hours in 28 days). Source Some state and local government workers are covered by a public pension plan instead of Social Security, so no 6.2% Social Security tax comes out of their pay (they pay a pension contribution instead, which this page does not include). Anyone hired by a state or local government after March 31, 1986 still pays the 1.45% Medicare tax. Source The new no-tax-on-overtime deduction covers the extra half of time-and-a-half pay, up to $12,500 a year for a single filer. Only overtime that the federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires counts; overtime paid only under a contract, a state law or an employer policy does not. Source Estimate your deduction.

How the exemptions work across jobs: who gets overtime pay.

Taxes on a correctional officer's pay

On the median $58,940, federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare take about 16.0% of pay for a single filer: $4,893 of income tax and $4,509 of Social Security and Medicare a year.

Tax bracket. After the $16,100 standard deduction, taxable income is $42,840, so the top federal rate is 12%. Each extra dollar from a raise or extra shifts is taxed at about 19.65% before state tax: 12% income tax plus 7.65% Social Security and Medicare. Source

401(k). Putting 5% ($2,947 a year) into a traditional 401(k) lowers federal income tax by about $354, so it costs about $2,594 of take-home pay.

If your job is covered by a public pension instead of Social Security, the 6.2% Social Security tax above does not apply, but your pension contribution comes out instead.

Self-employed or contract work

BLS pay figures cover employees only; self-employed correctional officers are not counted. If you work as a contractor (1099), you pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare (15.3% self-employment tax) and usually make quarterly estimated payments. Use the 1099 Tax Calculator to see what to set aside, and see 1099 vs W-2 take-home pay for how much more a contractor needs to earn.

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For a full breakdown of a similar wage, see $28 an hour is how much a year.

Correctional Officer salary questions

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All jobs · Hourly to salary chart. BLS data published 2026, reference period May 2025; tax figures checked Oct 26, 2026.