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BART 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.
BART Police Department starts at $107,954 a year — about $51.90 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $41,269 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $47,750 above the median for special jurisdiction agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in California run about 11% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $97,502 somewhere at average prices — $10,452 less than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 159 against a national average of 100, where goods are 106. 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 isBART Police Department reported 214 sworn officers and 153 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025.No rate is shown: this agency does not police a single population the FBI publishes a figure for. 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 BART says about itself
The mission of the BART Police Department is to ensure a safe environment within our transit system, reduce crime through a highly visible police presence, and proactive enforcement of the law, and to promote public confidence by working in partnership with our stakeholders and the communities we serve.
What BART does
BART Police states its mission is to ensure a safe transit-system environment, reduce crime through visible police presence and proactive enforcement, and promote public confidence through partnerships with stakeholders and the communities it serves.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 13 August 2026. $8,996.14/month upon academy completion ($107,953.68 annualized). BART’s official Entry-Level Police Officer recruitment explicitly separates Step 20 academy pay ($7,937. — open the source document
$8,996.14/month upon academy completion ($107,953.68 annualized). BART’s official Entry-Level Police Officer recruitment explicitly separates Step 20 academy pay ($7,937.77/month), Step 21 upon academy completion ($8,996.14/month), and Step 1 upon FTO completion.
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 BART 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. BART starts at $107,954, so $47,750 above the special jurisdiction middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a BART Police Department officer make?
BART Police Department starts a new officer on $107,954 a year, about $51.90 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 $8,996.14/month upon academy completion ($107,953.68 annualized). BART’s official Entry-Level Police Officer recruitment explicitly separates Step 20 academy pay ($7,937..
Is that good pay for a police officer in California?
It ranks #68 of 278 agencies we have verified in California — 210 pay less, 67 pay more in the state — and #71 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $41,269 above, and against other special jurisdiction agencies $47,750 above.
Compare with another department
Put BART 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 CA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs BART | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Clara Police Department | Municipal | 141 | $163,619 | +$55,665 | #1 |
| 2 | Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety | Municipal | 227 | $149,443 | +$41,489 | #2 |
| 3 | Redwood City Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $147,942 | +$39,988 | #3 |
| 4 | San Jose Police Department | Municipal | 1,065 | $144,003 | +$36,050 | #4 |
| 5 | Mountain View Police Department | Municipal | 90 | $143,096 | +$35,142 | #5 |
| 6 | San Mateo Police Department | Municipal | 111 | $141,024 | +$33,070 | #6 |
| 7 | Los Altos Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $139,740 | +$31,786 | #7 |
| 8 | Hayward Police Department | Municipal | 171 | $138,965 | +$31,011 | #8 |
| 9 | Milpitas Police Department | Municipal | 84 | $138,261 | +$30,307 | #9 |
| 10 | Los Gatos Police Department | Municipal | 34 | $132,394 | +$24,440 | #10 |
| 11 | Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,071 | $132,263 | +$24,309 | #11 |
| 12 | Menlo Park Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $132,036 | +$24,082 | #12 |
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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