Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists: salary, outlook & degrees
Provide social services to assist in rehabilitation of law offenders in custody or on probation or parole. Make recommendations for actions involving formulation of rehabilitation plan and treatment of offender, including conditional release and education and employment stipulations.
Middle half $54,250–$84,780. 89,390 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
87% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $52,473.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 7,900 openings a year, including replacements.
BLS Employment Projections 2025-35
Considerable preparation (usually a bachelor's).
BLS; O*NET 31.0 job zone
Degrees that lead to this career
What workers ages 25-34 in this job studied, among those with a bachelor's or higher. This is what people actually did, not a requirement.
| Field of bachelor's degree | Share | Degree pages |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal Justice And Fire Protection | 46% | Criminal Justice · Security / Homeland Security |
| Psychology | 8% | Psychology |
| Sociology | 7% | Sociology |
| Criminology | 5% | Criminology |
| Social Work | 3% | Social Work |
| General Business | 2% | Business |
| Business Management And Administration | 2% | Business Administration |
| Accounting | 1% | Accounting |
| General Social Sciences | 1% | Social Sciences · Social Sciences, Other |
| Political Science And Government | 1% | Political Science |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Education workers say the job requires
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers (“required level of education”); small samples, so treat shares as approximate.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| California | $103,640 |
| Connecticut | $97,350 |
| Massachusetts | $94,590 |
| Oregon | $84,920 |
| Vermont | $83,820 |
| Washington | $82,750 |
| Delaware | $81,880 |
| Minnesota | $81,580 |
| New York | $80,350 |
| New Jersey | $80,280 |
| Michigan | $79,760 |
| Iowa | $77,390 |
| Alaska | $77,000 |
| Maryland | $76,390 |
| Nevada | $75,840 |
| Illinois | $74,390 |
| Hawaii | $73,830 |
| Colorado | $71,680 |
| Maine | $71,140 |
| Pennsylvania | $67,370 |
| South Dakota | $66,870 |
| New Mexico | $66,000 |
| North Dakota | $65,140 |
| Nebraska | $63,460 |
| Louisiana | $62,910 |
| North Carolina | $62,220 |
| Kansas | $61,890 |
| Ohio | $61,120 |
| Alabama | $61,050 |
| Arizona | $60,910 |
| Georgia | $60,270 |
| Indiana | $60,170 |
| Idaho | $59,780 |
| Montana | $59,750 |
| Kentucky | $59,610 |
| Virginia | $58,820 |
| Tennessee | $58,010 |
| South Carolina | $56,780 |
| Wyoming | $56,580 |
| West Virginia | $53,120 |
| Texas | $52,880 |
| Arkansas | $51,180 |
| Florida | $50,960 |
| Oklahoma | $50,380 |
| Missouri | $46,840 |
| Mississippi | $34,110 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$54,540
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$50,670
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$50,960
- Jacksonville$47,240
- Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach$49,360
- Lakeland-Winter Haven$48,670
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville$47,130
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota$50,440
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$73,610
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$58,830
- Richmond$60,030
- Kingsport-Bristol$58,930
- Lynchburg$46,320
- Roanoke$57,930
- Charlottesville$58,830
- Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford$56,920
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$108,150
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$96,970
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$100,690
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$77,230
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$135,890
- Fresno$81,310
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$144,410
- Bakersfield-Delano$92,880
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: median annual wage, all workers in the job. Metro areas: the largest by employment.
What the work takes
Top skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
Knowledge used
- Law and Government
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Psychology
- Therapy and Counseling
Work styles
- Integrity
- Dependability
- Self-Control
- Stress Tolerance
- Social Orientation
People in this job tend to have Social (helping), Conventional (organizing), Enterprising (leading) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists: questions
How much do probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists make?
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists earn a U.S. median $66,270 a year; the middle half earn $54,250 to $84,780 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $52,508 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists a growing field?
BLS projects growth of 3.0% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,900 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be a probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialist?
BLS lists the typical entry education as bachelor's degree. In O*NET's survey, 90% of workers say a bachelor's or higher is required. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is criminal Justice And Fire Protection (46%).
How much do probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $50,960 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $66,270 nationally.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35); O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Census Bureau ACS microdata. SOC 21-1092. Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all careers
Cite this: “Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/probation-officers-and-correctional-treatment-specialists.