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Arlington 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.
Arlington Police Department starts at $90,624 a year — about $43.57 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $23,939 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $22,484 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Washington run about 7% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $84,685 somewhere at average prices — $5,939 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 126 against a national average of 100, where goods are 104. 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 isArlington Police Department reported 32 sworn officers and 5 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.4 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 22,466.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.
What Arlington says about itself
The Arlington Police Department is committed to providing excellent service and reducing crime and disorder by apprehending offenders, targeting top locations and providing information. We do this by responding to requests for service 24 hours a day with a team of excellent employees and using policies and procedures that meet state and national accreditation standards. Our values are integrity, the highest moral and ethical standards to promote public trust; professionalism, responding to our community with dedication, courtesy, and efficiency; innovation, adapting to the ever-evolving needs of our profession and community, entrusting our employees with the authority to make decisions at the most effective level; respect for the dignity, worth, and diversity of all people through impartial and compassionate service; and teamwork, recognising that our most important resources are the members of the department and the citizens of the community.
What Arlington does
Arlington's official recruitment says Police Officers perform law-enforcement work necessary to maintain public peace and order, protect life and property, prevent crime, apprehend suspected law violators, and enforce state laws and City ordinances. Officers patrol residential, business, rural, and industrial areas and respond to conditions requiring police attention
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Arlington official Entry Lev — open the source document
Official posting states the listed figures are 2026 salaries and gives $90,624-$114,108 annually for Entry Level Police Officer. Entry level is defined as the City's zero-experience hiring track; the minimum $90,624 is used. Add-on compensation is excluded
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 Arlington 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 | $33,280 | $68,140 | $163,619 | 1549 |
| County | $35,000 | $63,565 | $132,263 | 516 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,204 | $107,954 | 71 |
| State | $33,994 | $65,166 | $110,916 | 145 |
| 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 $5,400 more than the middle municipal agency and about $9,900 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,300 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. Arlington starts at $90,624, so $22,484 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Arlington Police Department officer make?
Arlington Police Department starts a new officer on $90,624 a year, about $43.57 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 City of Arlington official Entry Lev.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Washington?
It ranks #36 of 92 agencies we have verified in Washington — 56 pay less, 35 pay more in the state — and #255 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $23,939 above, and against other municipal agencies $22,484 above.
Compare with another department
Put Arlington 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 WA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Arlington | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Police Department | Municipal | 1,064 | $117,792 | +$27,168 | #38 |
| 2 | Redmond Police Department | Municipal | 81 | $110,435 | +$19,811 | #59 |
| 3 | Auburn Police Department | Municipal | 120 | $108,386 | +$17,762 | #68 |
| 4 | Lynnwood Police Department | Municipal | 71 | $106,371 | +$15,747 | #81 |
| 5 | Everett Police Department | Municipal | 207 | $102,516 | +$11,892 | #106 |
| 6 | Vancouver Police Department | Municipal | 226 | $101,832 | +$11,208 | #110 |
| 7 | Kirkland Police Department | Municipal | 108 | $101,218 | +$10,594 | #118 |
| 8 | Tukwila Police Department | Municipal | 76 | $101,064 | +$10,440 | #120 |
| 9 | Bothell Police Department | Municipal | 70 | $101,055 | +$10,431 | #121 |
| 10 | Mount Vernon Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $100,836 | +$10,212 | #125 |
| 11 | Kennewick Police Department | Municipal | 107 | $100,104 | +$9,480 | #128 |
| 12 | Edmonds Police Department | Municipal | 48 | $99,168 | +$8,544 | #140 |
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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