Illinois is the Nation's 7th Best State to be a Cop

It's not easy being a law-enforcement officer, but some states offer better conditions than others. Illinois ranks in the top ten best.

Personal-finance site WalletHub took a look around the country at one of the toughest jobs out there, pointing out:

It’s a profession that more than 900,000 Americans hold, knowing full well the hazards associated with their occupation. In the past 10 years, for instance, more than 1,500 police officers, including 129 in 2017 alone, died in the line of duty. Tens of thousands more were assaulted and injured.

Because of such risks, law-enforcement agencies must offer enough incentives to attract and retain officers. So what qualities define a good place to live and work for police? Here's what WalletHub's number-crunchers looked at to make their determinations:

WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 25 key indicators of police-friendliness. Our data set ranges from median income for law-enforcement officers to police deaths per 1,000 officers to state and local police-protection expenses per capita.

First, based upon WalletHub's criteria, here are the 5 best states to be a police officer:

1. North Dakota

2. New York

3. Connecticut

4. Minnesota

5. California

Next, the 5 worst:

47. New Mexico

48. Alaska

49. Idaho

50. Louisiana

51. Arkansas