The Police IndexStop data: 2024 ยท Pay and hiring checked Nov 2026

How long and how hard it is to get in

Departments that publish how long hiring takes
5 of 11

And 1 of 11 publish how many applicants they hire. Where an agency is silent, the chart says so.

Stated time to get hired

La Mesa Police2 to 8 months
San Diego Police3 to 4 months
Chula Vista Police3 to 5 months
Coronado Police3 to 6 months
Harbor Police6 to 12 months
SheriffNot published
Escondido PoliceNot published
Carlsbad PoliceNot published
Oceanside PoliceNot published
El Cajon PoliceNot published
National City PoliceNot published
0 mo3 mo6 mo9 mo12 mo

Each agency's own figure. They do not all measure the same span, so hover a bar for what it covers.

Share of applicants hired

Harbor Police
12 hired from 2,662 applications (0.45%), July 2025 to June 2026

Not published by: San Diego Police, Sheriff, Escondido Police, Chula Vista Police, Carlsbad Police, Oceanside Police, Coronado Police, El Cajon Police, National City Police, La Mesa Police.

Number of hiring steps

Escondido Police10 steps
Carlsbad Police10 steps
Oceanside Police10 steps
Coronado Police10 steps
El Cajon Police10 steps
National City Police10 steps
La Mesa Police10 steps
Chula Vista Police9 steps
San Diego Police8 steps
Sheriff8 steps
Harbor Police8 steps