What Does a Police Captain Do?
As long as a department divides its city into districts and divisions, each one will need a commander to make sure the chief's plans hold up on its streets. The captain's post is distinguished from a lieutenant's in that it covers a whole division around the clock, with its budget, its staffing and its public face.
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Captain, Deputy Sheriff, Detective Sergeant, Lieutenant, Patrol Sergeant, Police Chief, Police Lieutenant, Police Sergeant.
Police Captain Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a police captain include:
- Command a patrol district, investigations bureau or support division, including every shift and unit in it.
- Hold regular crime-trend meetings and move officers to the areas and hours that need them.
- Supervise lieutenants and review their shift reports, staffing plans and overtime.
- Draft division budgets and justify requests for vehicles, equipment and positions.
- Investigate or assign citizen complaints and decide which ones go to internal affairs.
- Attend neighborhood meetings and answer for crime, traffic and officer conduct in the district.
- Take command of major incidents until the chief or a deputy chief arrives.
- Plan police coverage for parades, protests, games and other large events.
- Rewrite division procedures after court rulings, audits or serious incidents.
- Recommend promotions, transfers and discipline for officers in the division.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a police captain, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Years of supervisory rank, usually as a lieutenant
- Crime analysis and deployment planning
- Budget and overtime control
- Incident command (NIMS and ICS) training
- Public speaking at community meetings
- Employee relations and discipline
- Policy writing
- A bachelor's degree, often required for promotion
Education and Training
With experience, officers progress from sergeant to lieutenant to captain, usually through written exams, assessment centers and interviews at each rank. BLS lists a high school diploma and moderate on-the-job training as typical for police supervisors as a whole, a group made up largely of sergeants, yet many departments want a bachelor's degree by the captain's rank. Command school helps too.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $81,860 - $132,620 per year, with a median of $106,040.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives.
According to BLS, growth for first-line supervisors of police and detectives is projected at about 3 percent for the period from 2025 to 2035. Around 10,600 supervisor posts a year open up across the country, but captain posts are few, since each division has one. Competition is stiff.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, First-line supervisors of police and detectives.
Police Captain Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $63,350 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $81,860 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $106,040 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $132,620 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $165,110 |
Highest-Paying States for Police Captains
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are California ($163,960), New Jersey ($142,990), Hawaii ($140,590), Alaska ($137,320), Washington ($136,280). Pay is lowest in Louisiana ($70,470), Arkansas ($62,290), Mississippi ($59,860).
Median pay in all 51 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $75,970 |
| Alaska | $137,320 |
| Arizona | $104,850 |
| Arkansas | $62,290 |
| California | $163,960 |
| Colorado | $126,810 |
| Connecticut | $109,360 |
| Delaware | $131,080 |
| District of Columbia | $134,760 |
| Florida | $100,880 |
| Georgia | $80,120 |
| Hawaii | $140,590 |
| Idaho | $94,920 |
| Illinois | $135,080 |
| Indiana | $81,540 |
| Iowa | $98,840 |
| Kansas | $82,950 |
| Kentucky | $80,390 |
| Louisiana | $70,470 |
| Maine | $92,350 |
| Maryland | $120,700 |
| Massachusetts | $104,320 |
| Michigan | $98,140 |
| Minnesota | $118,750 |
| Mississippi | $59,860 |
| Missouri | $94,440 |
| Montana | $89,380 |
| Nebraska | $106,100 |
| Nevada | $132,100 |
| New Hampshire | $100,060 |
| New Jersey | $142,990 |
| New Mexico | $92,200 |
| New York | $124,080 |
| North Carolina | $91,100 |
| North Dakota | $98,300 |
| Ohio | $98,380 |
| Oklahoma | $82,830 |
| Oregon | $122,130 |
| Pennsylvania | $102,400 |
| Rhode Island | $97,690 |
| South Carolina | $73,700 |
| South Dakota | $87,810 |
| Tennessee | $74,770 |
| Texas | $111,000 |
| Utah | $110,500 |
| Vermont | $99,280 |
| Virginia | $101,230 |
| Washington | $136,280 |
| West Virginia | $74,280 |
| Wisconsin | $97,120 |
| Wyoming | $91,400 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as first-line supervisors of police and detectives about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 100% are on the phone every day
- 95% use email every day
- 91% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 90% deal with rude or angry people at least once a week
- 78% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
- 62% work outdoors in all kinds of weather every day
- 61% have a lot of freedom to make decisions
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| High school diploma or GED | 56% |
| Some college | 20% |
| Bachelor's degree | 19% |
Tools and Software Police Captains Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy leading, persuading and making business decisions as well as organized work with data, records and clear procedures.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Social Perceptiveness.
Knowledge areas used most: Public Safety and Security, Law and Government, Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, English Language.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 2 of 5, which means some preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 33-1012.00 (First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.