Heavy vs Police
Police earns $19,830 more at the middle. Every figure is US government data you can check.
| Heavy | Police | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay in the middle median annual wage, May 2024 | $57,440 | $77,270 |
| Pay range 10th to 90th percentile | $38,640 to $78,800 | $48,230 to $120,460 |
| Years of school you pay for our own estimate from published entry requirements, not a BLS figure | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Typical entry education | Postsecondary nondegree award | High school diploma to college degree |
| Jobs opening up each year | 237,600 | 62,200 |
| Growth by 2034 | 4% | 3% |
| People doing it now | 2,235,100 | 826,800 |
| Where the pay is highest and lowest state medians, not adjusted for cost of living or taxes | $64,890 in Alaska down to $48,360 in New Mexico | $115,400 in California down to $45,610 in Mississippi |
Also compared: Carpenters vs Heavy Carpenters vs Police Electricians vs Heavy Electricians vs Police
Jobs that use what you already know
Same skills, same knowledge, same daily tasks. Most of these are not on this site.
Police covers 7 separate job codes. “6 of 7” means 6 of those 7 name that job as closely related.
Heavy
- Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
- Light Truck Drivers
- Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders
- Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists
- Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining
- Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
What these usually take: High school, then a few months to a year of on-the-job training.
Police
- Private Detectives and Investigators6 of 7
- First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives5 of 7
- Fraud Examiners, Investigators and Analysts3 of 7
- Forensic Science Technicians3 of 7
- Compliance Officers3 of 7
- Coroners2 of 7
O*NET 30.3 Database, U.S. Department of Labor. These are jobs that use similar skills, knowledge and daily tasks. It is a measure of how alike two jobs are — not a record of people moving between them.
Jobs that take more training than this one
A job zone is the U.S. Department of Labor’s published measure of how much preparation a job takes. It says nothing about pay.
- Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine SpecialistsA trade school course, an associate's degree, or one to two years on the job.
O*NET 30.3 Database and O*NET Job Zones, U.S. Department of Labor. A job zone is a published measure of how much preparation an occupation takes, not a measure of pay or of whether a job is better. Pay differences are BLS median annual wages, May 2024, and are shown only where both jobs are on this site.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment and wage data, May 2024, and employment projections 2024-34. Years of school is our own estimate from published entry requirements, not a BLS figure. State medians are not adjusted for cost of living or taxes, and that difference could be large either way. No advice, just data.