Wyoming Among Top 20 Worst States to Be a Cop, Report Finds

While not as bad as it used to be, Wyoming is still among the top 20 worst states to pursue a career in law enforcement, according to a report released Monday.

Personal finance website WalletHub ranked Wyoming 18th worst in the nation on its list of "2023's Best & Worst States to Be a Police Officer," up six spots from last year's ranking.

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In order to determine the best and worst states to be a cop, WalletHub compared the 50 states and Washington, D.C. across three key dimensions -- Opportunity & Competition, Law Enforcement Training Requirements, and Job Hazards & Protections -- using 30 relevant metrics.

The data set ranges from law enforcement officers per capita to state and local police protection expenses per capita.

While Wyoming ranked first in two of the metrics -- Requirement of De-escalation Training and Police Deaths per 1,000 Officers -- it ranked 49th in Persons Killed by Police Per Capita with 39.89.

Wyoming also ranked 43rd in Police Officer Continued Professional Education Hours Required and Degree of Lethal Force Allowed for Police Use and 40th in Salary Growth Potential of Law Enforcement Officers and Presence of "Blue Alerts."

Overall, California was ranked the best state for police officers, followed by Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Maryland, and Illinois.

The worst states were Nevada, Kentucky, West Virginia, Alaska, and Arkansas.

For the full report, click here.

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