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Atlantic City 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.
Atlantic City Police Department starts at $54,500 a year — about $26.20 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $13,890 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $16,764 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ run about 1% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $55,130 would somewhere at average prices — $630 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 109, where goods are 100. Based on price levels for this metropolitan 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 isAtlantic City Police Department reported 295 sworn officers and 42 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 7.5 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 39,096.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 Atlantic City
Atlantic City Police Officers patrol designated areas on foot or in vehicles to assist and protect people, safeguard property, assure observance of law and apprehend lawbreakers. Officers perform regular municipal patrol and enforcement duties for the City
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Atlantic City official continuo — open the source document
Current official posting states 2026 starting salary after academy graduation is $54,500 annually. Academy salary of $40,000 is excluded under the master list's post-academy sworn-rate standard
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 Atlantic City 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. Atlantic City starts at $54,500, so $16,787 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Atlantic City Police Department officer make?
Atlantic City Police Department starts a new officer on $54,500 a year, about $26.20 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 Atlantic City official continuo.
Is that good pay for a police officer in New Jersey?
It ranks #10 of 15 agencies we have verified in New Jersey — 5 pay less, 9 pay more in the state — and #1,453 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $13,890 below, and against other municipal agencies $16,764 below.
Compare with another department
Put Atlantic City 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 NJ
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Atlantic | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection — Fish & Wildlife Conservation Police | State | — | $74,153 | +$19,653 | #588 |
| 2 | New Jersey State Police | State | 3,351 | $64,956 | +$10,456 | #1,028 |
| 3 | Galloway Township Police Department | Municipal | 68 | $64,236 | +$9,736 | #1,054 |
| 4 | New Jersey State Parole Board | State | — | $63,268 | +$8,768 | #1,099 |
| 5 | North Plainfield Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $59,036 | +$4,536 | #1,282 |
| 6 | Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department | Municipal | 16 | $58,000 | +$3,500 | #1,322 |
| 7 | Toms River Township Police Department | Municipal | 145 | $56,792 | +$2,292 | #1,374 |
| 8 | South Brunswick Police Department | Municipal | — | $55,165 | +$665 | #1,421 |
| 9 | New Jersey Department of Corrections — Correctional Police | State | — | $55,081 | +$581 | #1,426 |
| 11 | Atlantic Highlands Police Department | Municipal | 15 | $52,975 | −$1,525 | #1,500 |
| 12 | New Jersey State Park Police | State | 81 | $50,604 | −$3,896 | #1,546 |
| 13 | New Jersey State Human Services Police | State | — | $50,604 | −$3,896 | #1,547 |
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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