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Albuquerque Police Department entry pay
What this agency pays a new officer to start, and how that compares with the rest of the country.
Entry pay onlyEvery salary here is what an officer is paid on day one, out of the academy — base pay on a 40-hour week, with no overtime, shift differential, specialty or education pay counted. Nobody stays on it.
Albuquerque Police Department starts at $65,499 a year — about $31.49 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $2,891 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $5,765 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in New Mexico run about 8% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $71,031 would somewhere at average prices — $5,532 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 74 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. Based on state-wide price levels, because this agency is not tied to a single metro area, from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. The salary above is what the employer publishes; this line is our arithmetic on it, and nothing on this site is ranked on it.
How big the department isAlbuquerque Police Department reported 966 sworn officers and 671 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.7 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 559,192.A rate is only meaningful for a city department, where the population served is the city’s own. Reporting to the FBI is voluntary, so a count can reflect a partial return as easily as a small agency, and the FBI asks that agencies not be compared on staffing. Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Full-time Law Enforcement Employees, 2025.
About Albuquerque
The Albuquerque Police Department is the municipal police force of Albuquerque and the largest police agency in New Mexico, working across six area commands. Cadets are paid throughout a 26-week academy built around the New Mexico Department of Public Safety certification curriculum, then serve at least four months of on-the-job training with field training officers followed by a one-year probation. Officers are also sworn as special deputy sheriffs by the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office, which extends their jurisdiction across the county.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 18 August 2026. Albuquerque Police Department official recruiting site, Police Cadet page — pay progression — open the source document
The department publishes an hourly ladder: a CADET in the 26-week academy earns $31.37 an hour; on graduating, the officer becomes a POLICE OFFICER 2ND CLASS at $31.49 an hour, which is $65,499.20 a year on a 2,080-hour year; after a one-year probation the officer becomes a POLICE OFFICER 1ST CLASS at $38.10 an hour, and the scale then reads $39.41 for a Senior 1st Class at five to fourteen years and $41.39 for a Master 1st Class at fifteen. The entry figure is the rate on graduating, because that is where the class changes. THE DEPARTMENT'S OWN POLICE OFFICER PAGE ADVERTISES A STARTING SALARY OF $79,248, AND THAT IS NOT THE RATE ON DAY ONE: $79,248 is $38.10 an hour over 2,080 hours, the 1ST CLASS rate reached only after the probationary year, and that page's own table begins at 'Year 1-3'. The cadet page, revised more recently, sets out the full ladder and is used here instead. A second inconsistency to be aware of: the cadet page's summary tile gives the after-probation rate as $36.99 an hour while its own itemised list says $38.10; the itemised list is used. Entry requires no prior law enforcement experience - a high school diploma or GED, US citizenship, a driver's license and age 21 by graduation - and cadets are paid in full through the academy. Excluded as add-ons: education pay of $100 a fortnight for a bachelor's degree, $150 for a master's and $200 for a doctorate; bilingual pay; shift differentials of $11.54 a fortnight on swing and $23.08 on graveyard; specialty pay for SWAT, K9 and the bomb squad; field training officer pay; longevity pay, which the department's ladder folds in from year four; and overtime. Class: Police Officer 2nd Class — the rate on graduating the 26-week academy | Post-academy: yes. The cadet rate during the academy is $31.37 an hour, $65,249.60 annualised, only $249.60 below the graduation rate, so the choice between them is immaterial to the figure.
Entry-level base salary only. Overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift
differentials, locality pay and lateral rates are excluded, so most officers earn more
than this.
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How this level compares
Where Albuquerque sits is partly about the agency and partly about which level of policing it belongs to. The three levels do not pay the same.
| Level | Lowest | Median | Highest | Agencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal | $35,006 | $71,287 | $163,619 | 1046 |
| County | $36,492 | $65,374 | $132,263 | 416 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,195 | $107,954 | 69 |
| State | $33,994 | $64,998 | $102,692 | 143 |
| Federal | $70,477 | $73,502 | $86,530 | 5 |
| Territory | $16,640 | $28,236 | $43,354 | 9 |
Federal agencies pay the most to start
The middle federal agency starts at $73,502 — about $2,200 more than the middle municipal agency and about $8,100 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,500 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. Albuquerque starts at $65,499, so $5,788 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Albuquerque Police Department officer make?
Albuquerque Police Department starts a new officer on $65,499 a year, about $31.49 an hour on a 2,080-hour year. That is base salary before overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift differentials and locality pay, so most serving officers earn more. The figure comes from Albuquerque Police Department official recruiting site, Police Cadet page — pay progression.
Is that good pay for a police officer in New Mexico?
It ranks #3 of 13 agencies we have verified in New Mexico — 10 pay less, 2 pay more in the state — and #991 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $2,891 below, and against other municipal agencies $5,765 below.
Compare with another department
Put Albuquerque Police Department side by side with any other agency on the site — the two salaries, what each is worth once local prices are counted, and which comes out ahead.
The agencies either side of it
Other agencies in NM
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Albuquerque | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Fe Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,046 | +$9,547 | #557 |
| 2 | New Mexico State Police | State | 1,174 | $70,845 | +$5,346 | #734 |
| 4 | San Juan County Sheriff's Office | County | 86 | $63,045 | −$2,454 | #1,109 |
| 5 | Valencia County Sheriff's Office | County | 48 | $62,150 | −$3,349 | #1,149 |
| 6 | Carlsbad Police Department | Municipal | 57 | $59,842 | −$5,658 | #1,255 |
| 7 | McKinley County Sheriff's Office | County | 37 | $59,675 | −$5,824 | #1,263 |
| 8 | Los Lunas Police Department | Municipal | — | $59,212 | −$6,287 | #1,279 |
| 9 | Chaves County Sheriff's Office | County | 33 | $56,264 | −$9,235 | #1,389 |
| 10 | Las Cruces Police Department | Municipal | 200 | $54,080 | −$11,419 | #1,466 |
| 11 | Rio Rancho Police Department | Municipal | 134 | $52,000 | −$13,499 | #1,515 |
| 12 | Ruidoso Police Department | Municipal | 12 | $50,336 | −$15,163 | #1,557 |
| 13 | Grant County Sheriff's Office | County | — | $49,691 | −$15,808 | #1,578 |
Base pay is only part of the year
Whatever the figure above, the rotation is what decides your year — which weekends you lose, when the changeovers land, what you can plan around. Save yours once and BlueShifts shows it a year ahead, with the off-duty jobs you take and what each one paid.
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