Start with the answer
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives pay in California and Illinois
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives is $163,960 per year in California. It is $135,080 per year in Illinois. California is 21.4% above Illinois on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 33-1012 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 13,200 wage and salary jobs in California and 4,900 in Illinois. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings
