Alabama had an estimated 11,300 of the country's 644,300 police patrol officers as of May 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Alabama's patrol officers earn significantly less than the national average, but the cost of living in Alabama is also much lower than in many other states.
National
The average annual salary of a patrol officer in the United States was $55,620, as of May 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. An officer in the 10th percentile earned up to $31,700 per year, or $15.24 per hour. The 25th percentile brought in up to $40,830 per year, or $19.63 per hour. The 75th percentile made up to $69,070 annually, or $33.21 per hour. The 90th percentile made $83,510 per year, or $40.15 per hour, or more.
Alabama
The average salary of a patrol officer in Alabama was $39,700 per year, or $19.08 per hour, according to the BLS as of May 2010. The median hourly wage was $17.96 per hour.
Cities
Birmingham patrol officers earned an average of $44,940 per year, or $21.61 per hour. Huntsville patrol officers made slightly higher at $45,430 annually, $21.84 per hour. The average salary of a patrol officer in Mobile was $36,260 each year, or $17.43 per hour. Patrol officers in Tuscaloosa earned an average of $44,060 annually, or $21.18 per hour. The cost of living in Birmingham, as of June 2010, was 20.7 percent lower than the national average, and the cost of living in Huntsville was 8.6 percent lower, according to the website Sperling's Best Places. In Mobile, the cost of living was 20.3 percent lower than the national average, and it was 7.2 percent lower in Tuscaloosa.
Nonmetropolitan Areas
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that, as of May 2010, the average annual salary of a patrol officer in northwestern nonmetropolitan areas of Alabama was $32,010, or $15.39 per hour. The average annual salary of a patrol officer in northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan areas was slightly less at $31,720 per year, or $15.25 per hour. Southwestern nonmetropolitan patrol officers earned significantly more at $37,170 per year, or $17.87 per hour. The average salary of a patrol officer in southeast nonmetropolitan areas was $32,100 per year, or $15.43 per hour.
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