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Athens 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.
Athens Police Department starts at $64,436 a year — about $30.98 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $2,249 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $3,704 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Texas run about 3% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $66,390 would somewhere at average prices — $1,954 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.
How big the department isAthens Police Department reported 31 sworn officers and 10 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.2 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 13,755.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 Athens says about itself
The Athens Police Department is the chief law enforcement agency for the city of Athens, the county seat of Henderson County, serving a community of about 13,000 from a new police station opened through partnerships in the community. The department is a civil service agency providing patrol, investigations, records and community engagement, and works alongside the Henderson County Sheriff's Office and District Attorney.
What Athens does
Athens Police safeguards life, property and constitutional rights through leadership, excellence in service and partnership with the community, with a vision of a safe and thriving community for all.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 14 August 2026. City of Athens / Athens Police Department — Recruit II — TCOLE Certified, first year — open the source document
Current official recruiting page checked 2026-08-14 | Class: Recruit II — TCOLE Certified, first year | Post-academy: yes — current recruiting page separates Academy Recruit from certified Recruit II | Official recruiting page publishes Academy Recruit $58,430 and TCOLE-certified Recruit II $64,436.
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 Athens 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. Athens starts at $64,436, so $3,704 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Athens Police Department officer make?
Athens Police Department starts a new officer on $64,436 a year, about $30.98 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 Athens / Athens Police Department — Recruit II — TCOLE Certified, first year.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Texas?
It ranks #110 of 151 agencies we have verified in Texas — 41 pay less, 109 pay more in the state — and #1,292 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $2,249 below, and against other municipal agencies $3,704 below.
Compare with another department
Put Athens 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 Athens | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Police Department | Municipal | 153 | $91,106 | +$26,670 | #241 |
| 2 | Frisco Police Department | Municipal | 270 | $90,750 | +$26,314 | #252 |
| 3 | Plano Police Department | Municipal | 400 | $90,729 | +$26,293 | #253 |
| 4 | Grand Prairie Police Department | Municipal | 287 | $90,000 | +$25,564 | #270 |
| 5 | Hurst Police Department | Municipal | 61 | $87,048 | +$22,612 | #322 |
| 6 | Lewisville Police Department | Municipal | 181 | $86,268 | +$21,832 | #335 |
| 7 | Coppell Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $84,968 | +$20,532 | #355 |
| 8 | Rockwall Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $84,448 | +$20,012 | #362 |
| 9 | Farmers Branch Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $84,440 | +$20,004 | #363 |
| 10 | The Colony Police Department | Municipal | 86 | $84,082 | +$19,646 | #371 |
| 11 | Baytown Police Department | Municipal | 172 | $84,049 | +$19,613 | #372 |
| 12 | McKinney Police Department | Municipal | 248 | $83,992 | +$19,556 | #374 |
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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