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North Carolina correctional officers ranked 49th in pay nationwide face severe staffing crisis with 24 percent turnover
North Carolina's correctional officers are ranked 49th out of 50 states in pay, behind even neighbouring South Carolina, despite being among the best paid in the southeast just 20 years ago. With a 24 percent turnover rate and shifts dropping from 28 officers to just 7 or 8, the state legislature has proposed a 15.4 percent salary increase in the next fiscal year.
North Carolina's correctional officers have fallen to 49th in the nation in terms of compensation, a dramatic decline from their position among the best-paid in the southeast just two decades ago. The state now ranks second to last in the entire country, behind even its neighbour South Carolina, in what it pays the men and women charged with maintaining safety and order inside its prison system. Governor Josh Stein and corrections officials addressed the crisis at a press conference alongside frontline officers who described the daily reality of working in dangerously understaffed facilities.
The numbers paint a stark picture of a system in crisis. Despite hiring 2,647 people in 2025, including 1,530 correctional officers, more officers than were recruited in the previous year, North Carolina ended the year with fewer filled correctional officer positions than it started with. The 24 percent annual turnover rate means that the department is effectively running to stand still, losing experienced staff nearly as fast as it can bring in replacements. Officers currently earn between $18 and $25 per hour, wages that corrections leaders say are insufficient to attract and retain qualified personnel.
Captain Derek Simmons, a 28-year veteran of the Neuse Correctional Institution in Goldsboro, provided a vivid account of how staffing shortages affect daily operations. Ten years ago, a typical shift would include approximately 28 officers and five sergeants. Today, lineup may see just seven or eight officers and three sergeants, forcing shift commanders to make difficult decisions about which security posts to staff and which to collapse. Every day, the officer in charge must determine which posts are most critical and which can be left unmanned while compromising security the least.
Secretary of Adult Corrections Leslie Dismukes outlined recruitment innovations being piloted at selected facilities, including refreshed marketing, improved hiring processes and integrated outreach campaigns. The pilot programme has reduced the time to hire by approximately 10 days and is attracting candidates interested in stable careers with solid benefits. However, Dismukes emphasised that the pilot covers only a fraction of the state's 55 correctional facilities and that success needs to be replicated system-wide. The fundamental challenge remains compensation, as people simply will not stay on the job if they cannot make ends meet and support their families.
The state legislature has responded with a proposed 15.4 percent salary increase for correctional officers on the STEP pay plan in the next fiscal year, announced as part of a budget framework by majority leaders of both the House and Senate. Corrections officials expressed gratitude for the legislative recognition but stressed that the department must also address salary compression and equity issues affecting all employees who work behind the wall. Governor Stein and legislative leaders called on the General Assembly to turn the proposed raises into law by passing the budget and sending it to the governor for signature, converting what has been a framework commitment into tangible financial relief for the state's beleaguered prison workforce.