California is the best state in US to be a police officer, report finds. Here’s why

While protests over police brutality were rampant in California last summer, it is still the best state to be a cop, a new report found.

WalletHub released a report ranking the best and worst states for police officers in 2021, and California was ranked No. 1.

The personal finance company determined its rankings by evaluating all 50 states and D.C. using three metrics: opportunity and competition; law enforcement training requirements; and job hazards and protections, according to the report.

California did best in the opportunity and competition category, ranking third. WalletHub analyzed the number of law enforcement officers per capita, average starting salary for police, median income, opportunity for growth, among other factors.

The state had the fourth highest median income for law enforcement officers per capita and also ranked No. 4 in job hazards and protections, according to the report.

The top 10 states and their scores are:

1. California 63.76
2. Connecticut 60.72
3. Maryland 57.99
4. District of Columbia 57.06
5. Ohio 54.54
6. Illinois 53.43
7. Colorado 53.43
8. Washington 52.55
9. Georgia 51.68
10. Minnesota 51.57

Unrest in California

Protests started in California following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, who died while in police custody on May 25 in Minneapolis. His death sparked an avalanche of protests across the nation.

Floyd died after now-convicted Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes, as three other officers chose not to intervene. Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter during a trial that ended in April.

This story was originally published May 10, 2021 at 3:12 PM with the headline "California is the best state in US to be a police officer, report finds. Here’s why."