Louisiana·Protective Service Occupations·SOC 33-1012

Best First-Line Supervisors of police officer programs in Louisiana, ranked by enrollment

Directly supervise and coordinate activities of members of police.

24 schools in Louisiana run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,005 people a year. The job pays a median of $70,470 in Louisiana across about 3,120 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledLieutenantPolice CaptainPatrol SergeantPolice SergeantCaptainPort WardenChief DeputyPolice Chief
Graduates / yr
1,005
in Louisiana
Median pay · Louisiana
$70,470
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
3,120
people employed
Schools
24
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
37%
across those schools
Median net price
$22,092
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Louisiana that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

5 programs in Louisiana that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Louisiana (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Louisiana page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 43.0104In Louisiana
957
95.2%
20$37,408$24,069
2
CIP 43.0302In Louisiana
25
2.5%
2$46,281$23,250
3
CIP 43.0103In Louisiana
11
1.1%
2$37,408$24,069
4
CIP 43.0301In Louisiana
11
1.1%
1$46,281$23,250
5
CIP 43.0404In Louisiana
1
0.1%
1$40,889$25,000

Top 24 schools in Louisiana

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 15 of the 24 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Grambling State University
Grambling, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
165Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$23,04636%45%
2Southern University and A & M College
Baton Rouge, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
112Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$32,49927%35%
3Bossier Parish Community College
Bossier City, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
90Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$32,31815%
4Southeastern Louisiana University
Hammond, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
90Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$35,02445%99%
5Louisiana State University at Alexandria
Alexandria, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
62Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$39,91734%92%
6Southern University at New Orleans
New Orleans, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
56Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$33,49413%79%
7McNeese State University
Lake Charles, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
55Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$34,17847%78%
8University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Lafayette, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
52Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$35,87253%87%
9Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Natchitoches, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
50Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$30,55943%93%
10SOWELA Technical Community College
Lake Charles, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
42Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$23,83243%
11University of Louisiana at Monroe
Monroe, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
42Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$36,31354%85%
12South Louisiana Community College
Lafayette, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
28Criminal Justice/Safety Studies30%
13Baton Rouge Community College
Baton Rouge, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
26Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$36,06631%
14Dillard University
New Orleans, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
25Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$26,74443%$18,82642%
15Tulane University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
21Crisis/Emergency/Disaster Management86%$33,10614%
16Louisiana State University - Shreveport
Shreveport, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
20Criminal Justice/Safety Studies38%51%
17Louisiana Delta Community College
Monroe, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
19Criminal Justice/Safety Studies30%
18Louisiana Christian University
Pineville, LA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
11Criminal Justice/Safety Studies44%$16,97177%
19Nicholls State University
Thibodaux, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
11Criminal Justice/Safety Studies54%91%
20Southern University at Shreveport
Shreveport, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
10Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration10%
21River Parishes Community College
Gonzales, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
7Criminal Justice/Safety Studies30%
22Herzing University - New Orleans
Metairie, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$67,22915%$22,09292%
23University of New Orleans
New Orleans, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
4Crisis/Emergency/Disaster Management38%74%
24Remington College - Shreveport Campus
Shreveport, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration$26,95233%$31,378

All 24 schools in Louisiana

Every school in Louisiana with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Louisiana that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Grambling State UniversityGramblingPublic1651
Southern University and A & M CollegeBaton RougePublic1121
Bossier Parish Community CollegeBossier CityPublic901
Southeastern Louisiana UniversityHammondPublic901
Louisiana State University at AlexandriaAlexandriaPublic621
Southern University at New OrleansNew OrleansPublic561
McNeese State UniversityLake CharlesPublic551
University of Louisiana at LafayetteLafayettePublic521
Northwestern State University of LouisianaNatchitochesPublic502
SOWELA Technical Community CollegeLake CharlesPublic421
University of Louisiana at MonroeMonroePublic421
South Louisiana Community CollegeLafayettePublic281
Baton Rouge Community CollegeBaton RougePublic261
Dillard UniversityNew OrleansPrivate not-for-profit251
Tulane University of LouisianaNew OrleansPrivate not-for-profit211

What first-line supervisors of police and detectives earn in Louisiana

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Louisiana
$70,470
Mean annual
$71,320
Jobs in state
3,120
What the range looks like
10th pct$47,810Median$70,47090th pct$94,990
Versus the national median
-33.5%

U.S. median $106,040. Louisiana pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.62×

Concentrated here: Louisiana employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Louisiana

New Orleans-Metairie, LA
$75,740median
770 jobs
Baton Rouge, LA
$74,450median
580 jobs
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA
$75,340median
200 jobs
Lake Charles, LA
$72,230median
150 jobs
Hammond, LA
$66,880median
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
$74,780median
480 jobs
Monroe, LA
$53,770median
100 jobs
Alexandria, LA
$63,500median
140 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+2.9%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
10,900
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
4,600
160,800 → 165,400
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Plus moderate-term on-the-job training

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives page.

How to become a First-Line Supervisors of police officer

Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Work experience needed
Less than 5 years
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.

Top skills

MonitoringActive ListeningCritical ThinkingSpeakingReading ComprehensionActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Louisiana

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 19 majors mapped to First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives16 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 03.0208Environmental/Natural Resources Law Enforcement and Protective Services
  • 29.0203Signal/Geospatial Intelligence
  • 43.0100Criminal Justice and Corrections, General
  • 43.0102Corrections
  • 43.0103Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration
  • 43.0104Criminal Justice/Safety Studies
  • 43.0115Law Enforcement Record-Keeping and Evidence Management(no graduates reported)
  • 43.0119Critical Incident Response/Special Police Operations
  • 43.0120Protective Services Operations
  • 43.0122Maritime Law Enforcement(no graduates reported)
  • 43.0123Cultural/Archaelogical Resources Protection(no graduates reported)
  • 43.0301Homeland Security
  • 43.0302Crisis/Emergency/Disaster Management
  • 43.0303Critical Infrastructure Protection
  • 43.0304Terrorism and Counterterrorism Operations
  • 43.0401Security Science and Technology, General
  • 43.0404Cybersecurity Defense Strategy/Policy
  • 43.0407Geospatial Intelligence
  • 43.0499Security Science and Technology, Other

Common questions

Answers for people weighing first-line supervisors of police and detectives programs in Louisiana.

What degree do you need to become a First-Line Supervisors of police officer?+

High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Criminal Justice/Safety Studies, which awarded 957 degrees in Louisiana in 2024-25, 95.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a First-Line Supervisors of police officer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Criminal Justice and Corrections, Homeland Security, Security Science and Technology. Together they graduate about 1,005 people a year in Louisiana.

How much do first-line supervisors of police and detectives earn in Louisiana?+

The median is $70,470 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 33.5% below the U.S. median of $106,040. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for first-line supervisors of police and detectives growing?+

BLS projects a +2.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 10,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Louisiana?+

24 institutions in Louisiana reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do first-line supervisors of police and detectives work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Lieutenant, Police Captain, Patrol Sergeant, Police Sergeant among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 33-1012.

First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives in other statesCaliforniaTexasFloridaArizonaNew YorkVirginiaGeorgiaNorth Carolina

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

All Clema data sources and release dates →

Explore every U.S. college in one conversation

Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.

Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card