Transit and Railroad Police
Also called: Patrolman, Railroad Police, Railroad Police Officer, Transit Police OfficerProtect and police railroad and transit property, employees, or passengers.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 8 of its 12 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 3.2% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 1.2% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Police officers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 4.3 hires for every 10 job openings in government, which employs about 87% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.4.3 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $109,650 | $95,280 to $109,680 | 100 |
| Florida | $69,810 | $66,190 to $70,000 | 40 |
| Georgia | $57,690 | $57,690 to $72,420 | 240 |
| Maryland | $99,420 | $70,540 to $119,290 | not published |
| Missouri | $67,840 | $56,480 to $67,840 | 90 |
| New Jersey | $106,290 | $86,300 to $121,830 | 340 |
| New York | $90,460 | $84,480 to $125,910 | not published |
| Texas | $78,480 | $61,030 to $111,280 | 80 |
| Utah | $87,770 | $87,770 to $87,770 | 80 |
Nationally: $90,230. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 8 of its 12 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI alone | Prepare reports documenting investigation activities and results. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Monitor transit areas and conduct security checks to protect railroad properties, patrons, and employees. | Not published |
| Not much | Enforce traffic laws regarding the transit system and reprimand individuals who violate them. | Not published |
| AI + software | Apprehend or remove trespassers or thieves from railroad property or coordinate with law enforcement agencies in apprehensions and removals. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine credentials of unauthorized persons attempting to enter secured areas. | Not published |
| AI + software | Patrol railroad yards, cars, stations, or other facilities to protect company property or shipments and to maintain order. | Not published |
See all 12 tasks
| Not much | Investigate or direct investigations of freight theft, suspicious damage or loss of passengers' valuables, or other crimes on railroad property. | Not published |
| AI + software | Direct security activities at derailments, fires, floods, or strikes involving railroad property. | Not published |
| Not much | Provide training to the public or law enforcement personnel in railroad safety or security. | Not published |
| AI alone | Direct or coordinate the daily activities or training of security staff. | Not published |
| AI alone | Plan or implement special safety or preventive programs, such as fire or accident prevention. | Not published |
| AI alone | Interview neighbors, associates, or former employers of job applicants to verify personal references or to obtain work history data. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 1 of the 12 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 12 tasks fall under 12 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintain safety or security | |||
| Monitor safety or security of work areas, facilities, or properties | |||
| Direct security or safety activities or operations | |||
| Verify personal information | |||
| Investigate criminal or legal matters | |||
| Interview people to obtain information | |||
| Coordinate activities with clients, agencies, or organizations | |||
| Develop safety standards, policies, or procedures |
Show all 12 activities
| Teach safety procedures or standards to others | |||
| Manage human resources activities | |||
| Record information about legal matters | |||
| Direct legal activities |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- A document or report75%
- Data or a spreadsheet5%
- An email or message5%
- A script or snippet5%
- An academic paper or thesis0%
How they worked with Claude
55% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for transit and railroad police specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 9,138 moves out
- 1 Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers High +3.5% 11%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 8%
- 3 First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives Moderate +3.3% 6%
- 4 Security Guards Moderate +0.9% 5%
- 5 Detectives and Criminal Investigators High +0.2% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 9,838 moves in
- 1 Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers High +3.5% 12%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 6%
- 3 Security Guards Moderate +0.9% 6%
- 4 First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives Moderate +3.3% 5%
- 5 Correctional Officers and Jailers Moderate -7.4% 5%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 21% high school
- 14% postsecondary certificate
- 26% some college
- 5% associate's
- 28% bachelor's
- 5% master's
- 1% professional doctorate
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 37 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 14% high school
- 28% some college
- 16% associate's
- 34% bachelor's
- 6% master's
- 1% professional degree
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Police officers” · 8,054 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Police officers”
1 program: Security and Loss Prevention Services.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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