How much does a correctional officer make? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 434,870 correctional officers employed throughout the United States. The average annual correctional officer salary is $43,550, which is equivalent to a mean hourly wage of $20.94.The bottom ten percent of correctional officers earn $27,000 or less on average, the top ten percent of correctional officers bring home $69,610 or more each year.he top-paying states are New Jersey and California, where correctional officers make an average $69,310 and $66,930 respectively. Work Environment. The vast majority of correctional officers, nearly 95 percent, are employed by the federal, state, and local government within prisons and jails.