The Police IndexStop data: 2024 · Pay and hiring checked Nov 2026

What the job looks like at California Highway Patrol

2,109,667 people stopped in 2024Busiest hour 8am to 9amSalary $116,040 to $143,940

California Highway Patrol is the state agency that patrols California's highways. This page shows what its officers spend their time on, from the stops the department reported to the state for 2024.

People stopped
About 5,780 a day

2,109,667 people in 2024. A stop is a detention or search, so calls with no detention are not counted. Most common reason: speeding, 44%.

Busiest hour for stops
8am to 9am
16% of stops are between 10pm and 5am
361st of 434 in California
Stops that came from a call
1%
The rest the officer started
425th of 434 in California
Stops on foot
1%
24,914 of 2,109,667
426th of 434 in California
Median stop length
10 min

Report card

Graded against 71 California departments with 100 or more officers. A is the top fifth, E the bottom fifth. There is no overall grade.

Pay
B
Top salary $143,940, median total pay $178,478.
Pay against local income
Not graded
No single city or county to compare with.
Promotion pay
E
Sergeants' median regular pay is 1.22 times officers', before overtime.
Overtime, not graded
Low
Median overtime adds 18% to regular pay. More overtime means more money and more hours, so it gets no grade.

How the grades work

Pay at California Highway Patrol in 2025

Published salary range
$116,040 to $143,940
Lowest and highest base salary for officer or deputy titles, as the employer reported it.
Median total pay
$178,478
What a full-year officer was actually paid, with overtime. Half earned more.
Median overtime
$27,244
18% on top of median regular pay. One in ten earned $81,858 or more.

Median total pay by rank

Officer or deputy$178,478
Sergeant$215,886

6,607 sworn staff were paid for the full year, 5,732 of them at officer or deputy level. Sheriff counts include jail and court deputies. Source: California State Controller, Government Compensation in California, raw export, 2025.

Where California Highway Patrol works

Area
Statewide
Kind of agency
Highway Patrol
Name in the state file
CHP-HQ A/C, STAFF
People stopped, 2024
2,109,667
Separate stops, 2024
2,105,549

What California Highway Patrol officers stop people for

Speeding44%
Registration, plates or insurance16%
Lane, turn or right-of-way violation12%
Lights, tint or equipment7%
Red light, stop sign or traffic sign6%
Phone use while driving6%
Seat belt or child seat2%
Parking or stopping violation1%
Suspected DUI0%
License problem0%
Everything else6%

The main reason recorded for each of 2,109,667 people stopped in 2024, grouped from the offense code.

When the work happens

16% of stops happen between 10pm and 5am.

California Highway Patrol
California average
12am3am6am9am12pm3pm6pm9pm

Darker means a larger share of stops in that hour.

How the work is done

Each dot is a department in California. California Highway Patrol is highlighted.

On foot1% 426th of 434 in California
0%20%40%60%80%100%
For a traffic violation99% 3rd of 434 in California
0%20%40%60%80%100%
After a call for service1% 425th of 434 in California
0%20%40%60%80%100%
Person perceived as unhoused0% 391st of 434 in California
0%20%40%

How stops end

Verbal warning27% 346th of 434 in California
0%20%40%60%80%
Citation69% 10th of 434 in California
0%20%40%60%80%
Arrest4% 381st of 434 in California
0%20%40%60%
Psychiatric hold0% 434th of 434 in California
0%20%40%

One person can have more than one outcome, so these do not add to 100%.

Searches and handcuffs

Person searched2% 413th of 434 in California
0%20%40%60%
Handcuffed3% 385th of 434 in California
0%20%40%60%
Hiring steps and test rules for this department are not on the site yet. Agencies differ in how consistently they record handcuffing and searches, so small gaps may not be real.

Sources: California Department of Justice stop data, 2024 · Map outlines: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files, 2023, 1:500,000.