OCCUPATION | SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

Jail workers

The San Joaquin Valley offers cheap land and remote locations that are ideal for jails and prisons. The growth of the corrections industry here has accelerated as land becomes less arable and amenable to farming. Jail and prison workers are among the highest-paid in the region and among the lowest in potential for automation. Yet the proposed 2022 closure of a prison in Susanville demonstrates the risk of depending heavily on one industry to provide jobs and economic development: Workers will either lose their jobs or be forced to relocate, placing stress on families and the region’s tax base. Other openings in the region do not provide the same level of income, such as jobs in the growing warehousing industry or on the region’s remaining farms.

 
 

Data dashboard

Demographic and occupational data for jail workers in the San Joaquin Valley.

View demographic and employment data for this region

 

Average age

40

Gender

Race | Ethnicity

 

Number employed in California

36,600

Projected job openings (2028)

2,760

Projected employment (2028)

33,400

 

Average salary

$83,030

SML rating

2.81

Data intensity rating

3.84

 

Routine cognitive score

0.12

 

Remote work potential

1

 

San Joaquin Valley

San Joaquin Valley