How much does a correctional officers and jailer make?

The median pay is $28.34 per hour — roughly $59,000 a year, with the real range running from about $20.56/hr (10th percentile) to $44.82/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a correctional officers and jailer?

The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

What does a correctional officers and jailer actually do all day?

Conduct head counts to ensure that each prisoner is present. Inspect conditions of locks, window bars, grills, doors, and gates at correctional facilities to ensure security and help prevent escapes. Monitor conduct of prisoners in housing unit, or during work or recreational activities, according to established policies, regulations, and procedures, to prevent escape or violence.

Public Safety

Correctional Officers and Jailers

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.

What it pays
Correctional Officers and Jailers earn a median of $28.34/hr — about $59,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $20.56/hr; the top 10% earn $44.82/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)

What you'd actually do

Conduct head counts to ensure that each prisoner is present.
Inspect conditions of locks, window bars, grills, doors, and gates at correctional facilities to ensure security and help prevent escapes.
Monitor conduct of prisoners in housing unit, or during work or recreational activities, according to established policies, regulations, and procedures, to prevent escape or violence.
Search prisoners and vehicles and conduct shakedowns of cells for valuables and contraband, such as weapons or drugs.
Guard facility entrances to screen visitors.
Record information, such as prisoner identification, charges, and incidents of inmate disturbance, keeping daily logs of prisoner activities.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

The feel of the work

Much of the work happens outdoors; you're around people constantly; time pressure is a real part of the job; precision matters — small details carry weight. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 0% of correctional officers and jailers are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are hands-on, organized and detail-focused and people-focused.

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Quick questions

How much does a correctional officers and jailer make?: The median pay is $28.34 per hour — roughly $59,000 a year, with the real range running from about $20.56/hr (10th percentile) to $44.82/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Do you need a degree to be a correctional officers and jailer?: The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
What does a correctional officers and jailer actually do all day?: Conduct head counts to ensure that each prisoner is present. Inspect conditions of locks, window bars, grills, doors, and gates at correctional facilities to ensure security and help prevent escapes. Monitor conduct of prisoners in housing unit, or during work or recreational activities, according to established policies, regulations, and procedures, to prevent escape or violence.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.

Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.