How much do Highway patrol officers make a year?

This question is not easy to answer because every department will be slightly different. Some areas will pay higher than others, because of reasons like cost of living.

Police departments in California are known to pay a salary on the higher end of the scale, but living expenses are equally high.

For example, Albuquerque Police salary tops at $52,374.40 annually for a top level officer.

Compare that to a top level San Jose officer, who hits a whopping $116, 206 annually.

Even within the departments themselves, officer's pay can vary. Officers often get paid more than their salary because of court cases, whether criminal or traffic.

Certain units, such as traffic division officers, will be paid more due to more off duty traffic court. They write more tickets because their job is to enforce traffic laws. Thus, more tickets get challenged, and they accumulate more off duty court which they are paid for.

Some departments will also pay bonuses annually for officers who have attained a university degree or higher. Some departments also offer bilingual pay (although this normally isn't that high)

Regardless of the actually salary, the opportunities are there for officers to make more. It all depends on where and what the circumstances are.