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Arizona Department of Public Safety — Highway Patrol Division 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.
Arizona Department of Public Safety — Highway Patrol Division starts at $65,400 a year — about $31.44 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $2,990 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $402 above the median for state agencies.
What Arizona Department of Public Safety — Highway Patrol Division says about itself
Troopers patrol over 6,800 linear miles—a total of 27,000 highway lane miles across 16 districts statewide.
What Arizona Department of Public Safety — Highway Patrol Division does
The Arizona Department of Public Safety was created in 1969 by merging the Arizona Highway Patrol with the liquor and narcotics enforcement divisions. Its Highway Patrol Division troopers cover 6,800 linear miles - 27,000 highway lane miles - across 16 districts, while the Criminal Investigations Division runs task forces, high-risk tactical response and the Arizona Counter-Terrorism Information Center.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Arizona Department of Public Safety official — State Trooper Careers — open the source document
$65,400. Current official AZDPS recruiting page; verified 8 August 2026
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.
How this level compares
Where Arizona Department of Public Safety — Highway Patrol Division 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. Arizona Department of Public Safety — Highway Patrol Division starts at $65,400, so $402 above the state middle.
How it ranks
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Common questions
How much does a Arizona Department of Public Safety — Highway Patrol Division officer make?
Arizona Department of Public Safety — Highway Patrol Division starts a new officer on $65,400 a year, about $31.44 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 Arizona Department of Public Safety official — State Trooper Careers.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Arizona?
It ranks #16 of 26 agencies we have verified in Arizona — 10 pay less, 15 pay more in the state — and #997 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $2,990 below, and against other state agencies $402 above.
Compare with another department
Put Arizona Department of Public Safety — Highway Patrol Division 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 AZ
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Arizona | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goodyear Police Department | Municipal | 174 | $77,147 | +$11,747 | #475 |
| 2 | Phoenix Police Department | Municipal | 2,490 | $75,847 | +$10,447 | #526 |
| 3 | Queen Creek Police Department | Municipal | 132 | $74,693 | +$9,293 | #569 |
| 4 | Chandler Police Department | Municipal | 348 | $74,610 | +$9,210 | #573 |
| 5 | Mesa Police Department | Municipal | 885 | $73,972 | +$8,572 | #596 |
| 6 | Casa Grande Police Department | Municipal | 82 | $72,860 | +$7,460 | #632 |
| 7 | El Mirage Police Department | Municipal | 53 | $71,573 | +$6,173 | #693 |
| 8 | Maricopa Police Department | Municipal | 89 | $71,074 | +$5,674 | #719 |
| 9 | Flagstaff Police Department | Municipal | 107 | $68,203 | +$2,803 | #850 |
| 10 | Navajo County Sheriff's Office | County | 59 | $67,496 | +$2,096 | #892 |
| 11 | Bullhead City Police Department | Municipal | 66 | $67,038 | +$1,638 | #914 |
| 12 | Show Low Police Department | Municipal | 34 | $66,581 | +$1,181 | #943 |
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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