Is Massachusetts “Police Friendly”? Here’s What Recent Study Has To Say

Are you currently a proud member of the "Boys & Girls in Blue"? Or are you a recent (or soon-to-be) graduate and you're looking to pursue a career in law enforcement? Is Massachusetts even a good state to pursue a crime-fighting career?

Well, if you're already in law enforcement or hope to be in the near future, you should know that whether you're a patrolman, detective, traffic cop, or investigator, Massachusetts is a good state to be in.

The personal-finance experts at WalletHub recently conducted a study looking into all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia to see which were the most "police-friendly" and came up with 2023's Best and Worst States to Be a Police Officer.

WalletHub compared all 50 states (and DC) across numerous key metrics ranging from the average income for police officers, the rate of violent crime, police-protection expense rate per capita, the number of police officers per capita, and more to come up with the results.

How did the Bay State perform in the rankings? Pretty good, actually. Sure there's room for improvement, but overall, not too shabby (as my Dad was fond of saying). Here are WalletHub's top 10 Best States to Be a Police Officer in 2023:

1. California
2. District of Columbia
3. Connecticut
4. Maryland
5. Illinois
6. Ohio
7. Colorado
8. Washington
9. New York
10. Massachusetts

That's right! The Commonwealth just made it into the top 10 at #10! Pretty good, Massachusetts. Let's aim higher for 2024. Now let's take a look at WalletHub's top 5 Worst States to Be a Police Officer in 2023:

1. Arkansas
2. Alaska
3. West Virginia
4. Kentucky
5. Nevada

How bad is it to be a police officer in Arkansas? Well, let's look at the overall score for the best state to be a police officer, California: 62.30. Now compare that number with the overall score for Arkansas: 27.65. That's a pretty big difference, right?

Take a look at the full rankings when you have some time. It's well worth it. Just visit WalletHub's website here. And, as always, thanks for the cool study WalletHub!