Police departments are designed to serve and protect society. Despite calls to defund the police, they remain an essential part of most communities, fighting crime and keeping residents safe. On average, nationwide, there were about 2.4 police officers per 1,000 people. In some places of low crime, this may be enough, while in others, significantly more police are needed.
Despite the many documented occasions of police not following procedures and acting in problematic, even illegal, ways, police forces across the nation are attempting to change certain rooted practices. Police also continually evolve, adopting new technology and administering new laws. And despite defunding calls, police funding has increased in many U.S. cities, according to ABC News. (Here is how the size of each states police force changed in the last year.)
Police departments have grown substantially over the years to accommodate growing populations, but recently there have been shortages, especially since the pandemic. There have been considerable police resignations and retirements in the past two years. (These are the most dangerous states to be a police officer.)
Still, some police departments are far larger than others. To find the largest police departments in the U.S., 24/7 Wall St. reviewed law enforcement employment data from the FBI’s 2021 Uniform Crime Reporting Program. We ranked each department in terms of its total of officers and civilians employed. We excluded law enforcement agencies that extend beyond county lines such as State Troopers and Highway Patrol.
It is important to note that not all departments report this data to the FBI, and there are cities that are missing data. In cases of the 50 largest cities in the United States that did not report to the FBI, we reviewed city budgets and other documents to best identify comparable city department sizes. These include Philadelphia and Chicago. We did not add police per 1,000 people for these cities as we did not want to use non-matching population data.
Obviously, sizable metropolitan centers are going to have some of the larger police departments just because of the sheer number of local residents. As such, this list includes several major population centers on the Eastern Seaboard as well as others dispersed throughout the country.
Here is a look at the largest police departments in the United States:
Source: LornaWu / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
24. Boston, Massachusetts
> Total police personnel (2021): 2,716
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.9
> Total officers (2021): 2,184
> Total civilians (2021): 532
[in-text-ad]
Source: Courtesy of Suffolk County Police Department via Facebook
23. Suffolk County Police Department, New York
> Total police personnel (2021): 2,812
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.1
> Total officers (2021): 2,331
> Total civilians (2021): 481
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Drew Angerer / Getty Images News via Getty Images
22. Baltimore, Maryland
> Total police personnel (2021): 2,843
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 4.8
> Total officers (2021): 2,360
> Total civilians (2021): 483
Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images News via Getty Images
21. San Francisco, California
> Total police personnel (2021): 2,857
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.3
> Total officers (2021): 2,129
> Total civilians (2021): 728
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Courtesy of San Antonio Police Department via Facebook
20. San Antonio, Texas
> Total police personnel (2021): 2,982
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 1.9
> Total officers (2021): 2,381
> Total civilians (2021): 601
Source: John Moore / Getty Images News via Getty Images
19. Detroit, Michigan
> Total police personnel (2021): 3,100
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 4.6
> Total officers (2021): 2,475
> Total civilians (2021): 625
[in-text-ad]
Source: Sam Greenwood / Getty Images News via Getty Images
18. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Florida
> Total police personnel (2021): 3,112
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.4
> Total officers (2021): 1,813
> Total civilians (2021): 1,299
Source: Courtesy of City of Maricopa Police Department via Facebook
17. Maricopa, Arizona
> Total police personnel (2021): 3,147
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 7.5
> Total officers (2021): 628
> Total civilians (2021): 2,519
Source: Courtesy of San Bernardino Police Department via Facebook
16. San Bernardino, California
> Total police personnel (2021): 3,312
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 11.5
> Total officers (2021): 1,940
> Total civilians (2021): 1,372
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Courtesy of Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office via Facebook
15. Hillsborough, Florida
> Total police personnel (2021): 3,329
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.2
> Total officers (2021): 1,265
> Total civilians (2021): 2,064
Source: Courtesy of Orange Police Department via Facebook
14. Orange, California
> Total police personnel (2021): 3,611
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 35.4
> Total officers (2021): 1,874
> Total civilians (2021): 1,737
[in-text-ad]
Source: Courtesy of Town Of Palm Beach Police Department via Facebook
13. Palm Beach, Florida
> Total police personnel (2021): 3,639
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 5.6
> Total officers (2021): 1,655
> Total civilians (2021): 1,984
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images News via Getty Images
12. Dallas, Texas
> Total police personnel (2021): 3,761
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.8
> Total officers (2021): 3,118
> Total civilians (2021): 643
11. Phoenix, Arizona
> Total police personnel (2021): 3,772
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.3
> Total officers (2021): 2,795
> Total civilians (2021): 977
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Courtesy of Riverside Police Department via Facebook
10. Riverside, California
> Total police personnel (2021): 3,799
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 9.7
> Total officers (2021): 1,663
> Total civilians (2021): 2,136
9. San Diego, California
> Total police personnel (2021): 4,129
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 8.5
> Total officers (2021): 2,463
> Total civilians (2021): 1,666
[in-text-ad]
Source: Jeff Greenberg / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
8. Miami-Dade, Florida
> Total police personnel (2021): 4,154
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.6
> Total officers (2021): 3,020
> Total civilians (2021): 1,134
Source: Mark Wilson / Getty Images
7. Washington, District of Columbia
> Total police personnel (2021): 4,179
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 6.2
> Total officers (2021): 3,575
> Total civilians (2021): 604
Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images News via Getty Images
6. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Nevada
> Total police personnel (2021): 5,760
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 3.4
> Total officers (2021): 3,994
> Total civilians (2021): 1,766
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
5. Houston, Texas
> Total police personnel (2021): 6,249
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 2.7
> Total officers (2021): 5,250
> Total civilians (2021): 999
4. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
> Total police personnel (2021): 7,300
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): N/A
> Total officers (2021): 6,500
> Total civilians (2021): 800
[in-text-ad]
Source: Roberto Galan / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
3. Chicago, Illinois
> Total police personnel (2021): 14,058
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): N/A
> Total officers (2021): 13,108
> Total civilians (2021): 950
24/7 Wall St.
Source: georgeclerk / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
2. Los Angeles, California
> Total police personnel (2021): 15,286
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 16.6
> Total officers (2021): 9,522
> Total civilians (2021): 5,764
Source: tillsonburg / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
1. New York, New York
> Total police personnel (2021): 50,029
> Police personnel per 1,000 population (2021): 5.9
> Total officers (2021): 35,047
> Total civilians (2021): 14,982
Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With A Financial Advisor (Sponsored)
Take the quiz below to get matched with a financial advisor today.
Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.
Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the
advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future
Take the retirement quiz right here.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Editors' Picks
