# First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers

US SOC code 33-1011. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/33-1011

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **53,380** US first-line supervisors of correctional officers, with median pay of **$77,970** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2012, the highest was **55,900**, in May 2022, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/census-state-and-federal-correctional-facilities-2000) of **19,000** from 1984, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for first-line supervisors of correctional officers: Integrated jail management systems and surveillance camera networks, 2000 to 2018.

Figures: Official statistic (latest count and pay, highest count); Researched context (earliest figure).

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 2.5% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=33-1011&ioType=o) (Official statistic).

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1821
- Latest US employment: 53,380 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [2]
- Latest US median pay: $77,970 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Outlook: -2.5% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [12]

### All 25 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1984 | 19,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Bureau of Justice Statistics [1] |
| 2000 | 27,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Bureau of Justice Statistics [1] |
| 2003 | 33,760 | $45,500 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [2] |
| 2004 | 35,880 | $44,720 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [2] |
| 2005 | 37,530 | $48,570 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [2] |
| 2006 | 37,400 | $52,580 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [2] |
| 2007 | 41,000 | $55,720 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [2] |
| 2008 | 40,840 | $57,380 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [2] |
| 2009 | 45,540 | $57,690 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [2] |
| 2010 | 39,920 | $55,910 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [2] |
| 2011 | 40,980 | $55,030 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [2] |
| 2012 | 44,830 | $57,840 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [2] |
| 2013 | 44,980 | $57,700 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [2] |
| 2014 | 45,150 | $57,970 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [2] |
| 2015 | 42,520 | $59,720 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [2] |
| 2016 | 43,230 | $60,560 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [2] |
| 2017 | 42,280 | $62,500 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [2] |
| 2018 | 43,760 | $63,340 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [2] |
| 2019 | 46,430 | $63,730 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [2] |
| 2020 | 53,420 | $60,910 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [2] |
| 2021 | 54,470 | $62,220 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [2] |
| 2022 | 55,900 | $63,310 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [2] |
| 2023 | 52,280 | $70,530 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [2] |
| 2024 | 53,390 | $76,310 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [2] |
| 2025 | 53,380 | $77,970 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [2] |

## Sources (64)

### Employment series

1. [Bureau of Justice Statistics, Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2000 (with historical data on 1984 census: total correctional staff 430,033 in 2000, prison population reference from BJS historical data)](https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/census-state-and-federal-correctional-facilities-2000), Bureau of Justice Statistics
2. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

4. [Wikipedia: Auburn system (history of the Auburn penitentiary model and its supervisory hierarchy)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn_system), Wikipedia
5. [Wikipedia: Elam Lynds (principal keeper at Auburn 1817-1825, Sing Sing 1825-1830; supervisory philosophy and structure)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elam_Lynds), Wikipedia
6. [Encyclopedia.com: Prisons: Correctional Officers (history of paramilitary structure, radio, and facility technology in American corrections)](https://www.encyclopedia.com/law/legal-and-political-magazines/prisons-correctional-officers), Encyclopedia.com
7. [EveryCRSReport: Economic Impacts of Prison Growth (corrections sector employment approximately 770,000 in 2008; growth trajectory from 1980 mass-incarceration era)](https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R41177.html), Congressional Research Service / EveryCRSReport
8. [Bureau of Justice Statistics, Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2000 (430,033 correctional staff in 2000)](https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/census-state-and-federal-correctional-facilities-2000), Bureau of Justice Statistics
9. [Corrections1: Connected technology improves correctional officer safety (integrated communications, surveillance, and management systems in corrections)](https://www.corrections1.com/jail-management/articles/the-future-has-arrived-for-correctional-officer-communications-6thblW7IyQaxpq8a/), Corrections1 / PennWell
10. [Axon Corrections: Safer Prison Environments (Axon body-worn camera and digital evidence management for corrections)](https://www.axon.com/industries/public-safety/corrections), Axon Enterprise
11. [Corrections1: Beyond the body-worn camera: Incorporating digital evidence management systems into the corrections environment](https://www.corrections1.com/products/body-cameras/articles/beyond-the-body-worn-camera-incorporating-digital-evidence-management-systems-into-the-corrections-environment-wiarLrEZWTab1IOj/), Corrections1 / PennWell

### Forecasts and exposure studies

12. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 33-1011 First-line supervisors of correctional officers (2025: 56.3 thousand; 2035: 54.8 thousand; -2.5%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=33-1011&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Historical notes

13. [Wikipedia: Elam Lynds (Auburn 1821-1825, supervisory structure of the Auburn system)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elam_Lynds), Wikipedia
14. [ACA: History and Mission (American Correctional Association, founded 1870 as National Prison Association)](https://www.aca.org/about/history-and-mission), American Correctional Association
15. [Wikipedia: California Correctional Peace Officers Association (founded 1957; five of nine founding officers were correctional lieutenants)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Correctional_Peace_Officers_Association), Wikipedia
16. [Mass Incarceration Trends, The Sentencing Project (US prison population 330,000 in 1980, peaked at 1.6M around 2009)](https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/mass-incarceration-trends/), The Sentencing Project
17. [Bureau of Justice Statistics, Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2000 (430,033 total staff; 270,317 correctional officers)](https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/census-state-and-federal-correctional-facilities-2000), Bureau of Justice Statistics

### Predecessors & successors

18. [Wikipedia: Elam Lynds (principal keeper of Auburn 1817-1825; title used across 19th-century US penitentiary systems)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elam_Lynds), Wikipedia

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-21
- [O\*NET 30.3 — US Department of Labor](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), accessed 2026-05-21

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.