The Facts

• After surveying correctional officers in America in 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated a national average salary for the profession as $42,610 per year. Correctional officers working in the state of Oregon fared better than the national median, earning an annual average salary of $48,650, a difference of $6,040 per year.
  
  

Range

• Not all of Oregon's 4,260 correctional officers (as of May 2009) earned higher than their colleagues across the country. In Oregon's bottom 10th percentile wage, salaries averaged $33,890. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Oregon's highest earning correctional officers in the 90th bracket earned $60,270 per year.
  
  

Considerations

• Paths to earning a salary as an Oregon correctional officer vary, but almost all require a high school diploma or GED. Prospective correctional officers with military training, vocational school or technical college experience may find more opportunities to secure salaries. The American Correctional Association offers online correctional officer training for students who prefer to learn from home. Candidates for the profession are subject to criminal background checks, drug tests, mental health evaluations and a check of U.S. residency.
  
  

Outlook

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects a continued 9 percent rise in employment of correctional officers, adding 42,900 jobs across the country through 2018. The BLS recommends candidates seek employment in rural and low-income areas of Oregon, which are often underserved by qualified applicants.