The Chicago Police Department has approximately 11,564 sworn officers as of February 2026, according to city and Inspector General records. That makes CPD the second-largest municipal police force in the country, behind only the NYPD. Total department headcount sits at 12,198 when you include the roughly 630 civilian employees who handle administrative, technical, and support work.1City of Chicago. Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Review: Budget Process and Comparative Analysis
The current count is roughly 2,200 positions below what the city budgeted for 2026, which authorized 13,792 total police department positions.1City of Chicago. Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Review: Budget Process and Comparative Analysis The sworn figure has held fairly steady since August 2023, when CPD reported 11,722 officers on duty, but it has slipped about 0.6% in the past year.
How Chicago’s Force Compares to Other Cities
With Chicago’s population at roughly 2.72 million,2U.S. Census Bureau. QuickFacts: Chicago City, Illinois 11,564 sworn officers works out to about 42.5 officers per 10,000 residents. That ratio puts Chicago among the most heavily policed large cities in the country, roughly comparable to New York and well above Los Angeles, which typically fields about 25 officers per 10,000 residents. The ratio has eased from its recent high as officer numbers fell while the population stayed relatively flat.
How the Headcount Has Changed Over Time
CPD’s sworn force peaked at 13,353 officers in early 2019. By mid-2022, the department was down to roughly 11,638 active sworn officers, a drop of nearly 13% in just over three years.3Civic Federation. Chicago Police Department Staffing Analysis Losses accelerated during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, when police departments across the country saw a spike in retirements and resignations.
The pace of departures has slowed since. CPD recorded 550 total separations in 2024, including both retirements and resignations.4Chicago Police Department. 2024 CPD Annual Report That is a meaningful improvement over 2021 and 2022, but it still outpaces the rate at which new recruits graduate the academy. The department has been running at a net deficit for years.
Where Those Officers Are Assigned
Most of CPD’s budgeted strength sits in patrol. For 2026, the city budgeted 10,518 positions for Patrol Services, the officers who respond to 911 calls and work district beats. The Bureau of Detectives had 542 budgeted positions, and the Bureau of Counter-Terrorism was allocated 1,227.1City of Chicago. Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Review: Budget Process and Comparative Analysis Those are budgeted numbers, not filled seats. Because patrol holds the bulk of positions, that is where the vacancy gap hits hardest.
Why the Department Is Below Its Budgeted Strength
The decline from 13,353 to 11,564 was a slow bleed rather than a single event. A large cohort hired in the late 1990s and early 2000s became pension-eligible, pushing retirements up. Resignations spiked in 2020 and 2021 during a period of intense public scrutiny of policing. The academy can only process so many recruits at a time, and each class takes months, so new graduates have consistently fallen short of departures.
Recruitment itself has gotten harder. New Chicago officers start at $63,636 as of 2026,5City of Chicago. Classification and Pay Plan Salary Resolution 2026 and policing competes with other careers offering comparable pay without the same physical risk or scrutiny. Candidates must be at least 21 and under 40 at appointment, and they need a valid Illinois driver’s license with a Chicago address by the first day of academy training.6JoinCPD. Eligibility and Requirements The residency requirement narrows the applicant pool compared to departments that let officers live outside the city. The age cap at 40 cuts off experienced professionals who might otherwise switch careers.
These pressures together explain why CPD has not closed the gap between its authorized strength and its actual headcount, even with a $2.11 billion budget behind it.1City of Chicago. Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Review: Budget Process and Comparative Analysis Unless academy classes consistently graduate more officers than the roughly 550 who leave each year, the sworn count will keep drifting below the budgeted figure.