Correctional Officers and Jailers Salary in Houston, TX (2024)
Correctional Officers and Jailers in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area earn a median of $51,020 per year ($24.53 per hour) based on 8,060 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is -12.0% against the national median of $57,970 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where correctional officers and jailers actually sit across the pay range in Houston, TX, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $22.62 | $47,040 | |
| 25th percentile | $23.04 | $47,930 | |
| Median | $24.53 | $51,020 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $26.12 | $54,330 | |
| 90th percentile | $27.87 | $57,970 | |
| Average (mean) | $25.50 | $53,050 |
How Houston, TX compares
The local median of $51,020 runs -12.0% below the US median of $57,970 for this occupation; it pays 5.2% more than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($48,490); within the metro it ranks 374th of 677 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Houston, TX — this occupation | $51,020 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $57,970 | -12.0% |
| Houston, TX — all occupations | $48,490 | +5.2% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $100,540 | -49.3% |
The location quotient of 1.05 is close to 1.0: the occupation's share of local employment tracks the national average.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 0.2%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 374th of 677 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Houston, TX
To put $51,020 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 374th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse Anesthetists | $235,490 | 900 |
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | $220,420 | — |
| Podiatrists | $213,840 | 70 |
| Physicists | $212,050 | 130 |
| Anesthesiologists | $202,830 | 1,190 |
| Pediatricians, General | $187,590 | 1,280 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $172,810 | 5,510 |
| Dentists, General | $170,170 | 1,410 |
| Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers | $168,280 | 1,760 |
| Law Teachers, Postsecondary | $167,680 | 50 |
Where correctional officers and jailers earn the most
Across the 24 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $45,760 to $100,540. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $100,540 | 1,620 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $93,690 | 4,920 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $92,190 | 15,680 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $87,590 | 1,370 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $85,400 | 4,810 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $81,850 | 4,450 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $80,280 | 2,090 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $79,710 | 5,920 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $75,410 | 1,490 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $69,040 | 3,610 |
See the full national picture on the Correctional Officers and Jailers salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for correctional officers and jailers in Houston, TX?
The median annual wage is $51,020, or $25 per hour. That means half of the correctional officers and jailers working in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $53,050.
What do the highest and lowest paid correctional officers and jailers in Houston, TX earn?
The bottom 10% earn $47,040 or less, while the top 10% earn $57,970 or more — a spread of $10,930 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $47,930 and $54,330.
Is correctional officers and jailers pay in Houston, TX above the local average?
Yes, it is 5.2% above the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $48,490. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does Houston, TX pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $51,020 the metro median is 12.0% lower than the US median of $57,970 for correctional officers and jailers. Across the 24 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $45,760 to $100,540.
How many correctional officers and jailers work in Houston, TX?
BLS counts about 8,060 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 2.48 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. The location quotient of 1.05 is close to 1.0: the occupation's share of local employment tracks the national average.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 0.8%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.