Correctional Officers and Jailers Salary in Riverside, CA (2024)
Correctional Officers and Jailers in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro area earn a median of $93,690 per year ($45.04 per hour) based on 4,920 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +61.6% 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 Riverside, CA, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $30.14 | $62,690 | |
| 25th percentile | $36.12 | $75,130 | |
| Median | $45.04 | $93,690 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $50.04 | $104,090 | |
| 90th percentile | $53.55 | $111,380 | |
| Average (mean) | $42.81 | $89,040 |
How Riverside, CA compares
The local median of $93,690 runs +61.6% above the US median of $57,970 for this occupation; it pays 94.2% more than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($48,240); within the metro it ranks 157th of 664 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside, CA — this occupation | $93,690 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $57,970 | +61.6% |
| Riverside, CA — all occupations | $48,240 | +94.2% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $100,540 | -6.8% |
At a location quotient of 1.22, this occupation is over-represented locally: the metro has about 122% of the national share of these workers.
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 157th of 664 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Riverside, CA
To put $93,690 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 157th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Family Medicine Physicians | $234,800 | — |
| Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary | $214,870 | 150 |
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | $203,180 | — |
| Nurse Midwives | $201,870 | 60 |
| Chief Executives | $197,190 | 2,070 |
| Economics Teachers, Postsecondary | $186,670 | 60 |
| Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary | $185,030 | 130 |
| Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary | $181,960 | 70 |
| Podiatrists | $178,040 | 80 |
| Communications Teachers, Postsecondary | $173,360 | 300 |
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 Riverside, CA?
The median annual wage is $93,690, or $45 per hour. That means half of the correctional officers and jailers working in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $89,040.
What do the highest and lowest paid correctional officers and jailers in Riverside, CA earn?
The bottom 10% earn $62,690 or less, while the top 10% earn $111,380 or more — a spread of $48,690 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $75,130 and $104,090.
Is correctional officers and jailers pay in Riverside, CA above the local average?
Yes, it is 94.2% above the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $48,240. 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 Riverside, CA pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $93,690 the metro median is 61.6% higher 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 Riverside, CA?
BLS counts about 4,920 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 2.90 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. At a location quotient of 1.22, this occupation is over-represented locally: the metro has about 122% of the national share of these workers.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 0.7%). 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.