Correctional Officers and Jailers
Also called: Booking Officer, Certified Detention Deputy, Civilian Jail Officer, Community Corrections Officer (CCO), Community Services Officer (CSO), Confinement Officer, Convict Guard, Correction Officer
Guard inmates in penal or rehabilitative institutions in accordance with established regulations and procedures.
What correctional officers and jailers do
Typical tasks
- Conduct head counts to ensure that each prisoner is present.
- Inspect conditions of locks, window bars, grills, doors, and gates at correctional facilities to ensure security and help prevent escapes.
- Monitor conduct of prisoners in housing unit, or during work or recreational activities, according to established policies, regulations, and procedures, to prevent escape or violence.
- Search prisoners and vehicles and conduct shakedowns of cells for valuables and contraband, such as weapons or drugs.
- Guard facility entrances to screen visitors.
- Record information, such as prisoner identification, charges, and incidents of inmate disturbance, keeping daily logs of prisoner activities.
- Inspect mail for the presence of contraband.
- Maintain records of prisoners' identification and charges.
- Use weapons, handcuffs, and physical force to maintain discipline and order among prisoners.
- Use nondisciplinary tools and equipment, such as a computer.
- Conduct fire, safety, and sanitation inspections.
- Take prisoners into custody and escort to locations within and outside of facility, such as visiting room, courtroom, or airport.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Correctional Officers and Jailers salary
The median annual wage for correctional officers and jailers is $58,940 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $42,760 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $93,220. The mean annual wage is $63,630.
The mean hourly wage of $30.00 is 4.1× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Correctional Officers and Jailers (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $58,940 → in 3 years $63,700 → in 5 years $67,100 → in 10 years $76,400 (10-year range $65,700–$88,700). The model assumes pay growth of +2.6% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Correctional Officers and Jailers
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Correctional Officers and Jailers? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Correctional Officers and Jailers
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
The same job in Japan
| Correctional Officers and Jailers United States | 刑務官 Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Median / average pay | $58,940 | — ≈ — |
| Pay in 10 years (est.) | $76,400 | — |
| Outlook score | 36 | 76 |
| AI replacement risk | 24% Low | 29% Low |
| Workers | 380K | — |
Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.
Skills, education and requirements for Correctional Officers and Jailers
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★☆☆☆☆ Easy to enter (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become correctional officers and jailers
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as correctional officers and jailers
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.