Police Chief / Sergeant
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Police Chief or Sergeant directs operations and supervises the activities of a local police department or a unit or shift within a department. Implements new initiatives to address problems with crime in the community.
Job Outlook
There were 462 Police Chief / Sergeant job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 9655 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Police Chief / Sergeant industry, which includes the Police Chief / Sergeant career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Police Chief / Sergeant jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $102,722.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $90,749.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Police Chief / Sergeant postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $79,915.
Education and Experience
Posted Police Chief / Sergeant jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 31.35% |
| Master's Degree | 11.08% |
| Doctoral Degree | 2.51% |
| Other | 36.91% |
Posted Police Chief / Sergeant jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 32.23% |
| 3 to 5 years | 40.69% |
| 6 to 8 years | 12.65% |
| 9+ years | 14.43% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Police Chief / Sergeant positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (43.3%)
- Investigation (37.66%)
- Operations (35.19%)
- Management (30.33%)
- Leadership (22.25%)
- Writing (19.26%)
- Planning (17.19%)
- Coordinating (15.19%)
- Customer Service (13.21%)
- Supervision (11.8%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Law Enforcement (56.98%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Office Equipment (12.28%)
- Auditing (9.83%)
- Mental Health (5.29%)
- Public Relations (9.58%)
- Crime Prevention (16.17%)
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) (4.28%)
- Finance (5.7%)
- Public Administration (9.41%)
- Project Management (6.75%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Community Policing (7.45%)
- Police Science (4.69%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Community Policing (12.93%)
- Law Enforcement (98.87%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Police Chief / Sergeant skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Deputy Sheriff
- Sheriff's Deputy
- Police Sergeant
- Chief of Police
- Police Lieutenant
- Police Chief
- Police Captain
- Sheriff
- Sheriff's Sergeant
- Assistant Sheriff
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Police Chief / Sergeant jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Target (95)
- City of New York (93)
- State of South Carolina (66)
- County of El Dorado (59)
- State of California (57)
- Minnehaha County (57)
- Salt Lake County (56)
- County Of Riverside (55)
- Victorian Senior Care (55)
- Aramark (51)
North Carolina
- Victorian Senior Care (60)
- State of North Carolina (28)
- University of North Carolina (18)
- Allied Universal (14)
- Forsyth County (10)
- Shelby County Government (10)
- Saint Pauls Evangelical Lutheran Church Of Iredell County NC (8)
- Target (7)
- City Of Rocky Mount (7)
- Western Carolina University (7)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.