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Amarillo 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.
Amarillo Police Department starts at $72,847 a year — about $35.02 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $4,457 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $1,583 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Texas run about 3% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $75,056 would somewhere at average prices — $2,209 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 88, where goods are 98. 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.
About Amarillo
Amarillo Police Department has served the Texas Panhandle since 1914 from its headquarters at 200 SE 3rd, with a budgeted strength in the region of 370 sworn officers. It runs its own police academy, preparing recruits to exceed state-mandated training before the Texas Basic Peace Officer licensing exam, and operates a public shooting range open to residents for firearms training
Where the figure comes from
Checked 19 August 2026. Amarillo Police Department, Employment - Benefits/Salaries, Sworn Employment Benefits/Salaries table — open the source document
The department's own sworn pay table: Recruit Officer (Step 1) $72,847, 1 Year Officer (Step 2) $77,218, 2 Year $81,079, 3 Year $85,133, 4 Year $89,390, 5 Year $93,860, then Corporal $94,798, Sergeant $104,615, Lieutenant $115,449 and Captain $127,406. THE TITLE 'RECRUIT OFFICER' IS MISLEADING AND THE TABLE SETTLES IT: this is STEP 1 OF THE SWORN OFFICER SCALE, not an academy class. The table is headed Sworn Employment and runs Recruit Officer straight into 1 Year Officer, and Amarillo's own lateral entry document prices prior experience against the same ladder - so a hire with no experience is step 1 by definition. The recruit posting's summary begins 'after successful completion of the Police Academy, patrols assigned areas', which are the duties of the sworn post. Excluded as add-ons: certificate pay of $600, $900 and $1,200 a year for Intermediate, Advanced and Master Peace Officer; education pay of up to $420 for college hours, $900 for an associate degree, $1,500 for a bachelor's and $1,800 for a master's; shift differential of 3% of gross pay; and bilingual pay of $50 a month.
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 Amarillo 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. Amarillo starts at $72,847, so $1,560 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Amarillo Police Department officer make?
Amarillo Police Department starts a new officer on $72,847 a year, about $35.02 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 Amarillo Police Department, Employment - Benefits/Salaries, Sworn Employment Benefits/Salaries table.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Texas?
It ranks #70 of 140 agencies we have verified in Texas — 70 pay less, 69 pay more in the state — and #634 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $4,457 above, and against other municipal agencies $1,583 above.
Compare with another department
Put Amarillo 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 TX
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Amarillo | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Police Department | Municipal | 153 | $91,106 | +$18,259 | #192 |
| 2 | Frisco Police Department | Municipal | 270 | $90,750 | +$17,903 | #200 |
| 3 | Plano Police Department | Municipal | 414 | $90,729 | +$17,882 | #201 |
| 4 | Grand Prairie Police Department | Municipal | 287 | $90,000 | +$17,153 | #216 |
| 5 | Hurst Police Department | Municipal | — | $87,048 | +$14,201 | #264 |
| 6 | Lewisville Police Department | Municipal | 181 | $86,268 | +$13,421 | #276 |
| 7 | Coppell Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $84,968 | +$12,121 | #293 |
| 8 | Rockwall Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $84,448 | +$11,601 | #300 |
| 9 | The Colony Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,082 | +$11,235 | #306 |
| 10 | Baytown Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,049 | +$11,202 | #307 |
| 11 | McKinney Police Department | Municipal | 248 | $83,992 | +$11,145 | #309 |
| 12 | Mesquite Police Department | Municipal | 260 | $83,869 | +$11,022 | #312 |
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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