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Bartow 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.
Bartow Police Department starts at $57,720 a year — about $27.75 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $8,965 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $10,420 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Florida run about 3% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $55,814 somewhere at average prices — $1,906 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 122 against a national average of 100, 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 isBartow Police Department reported 37 sworn officers and 22 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.6 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 22,765.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 Bartow says about itself
In partnership with our community, our mission is to maintain order, prevent and investigate crime and improve the quality of life of the citizens we serve. To build a safer Bartow through strong community partnerships, open communication, and proactive policing, creating a city where trust, respect and collaboration between officers and residents are the foundation of public safety.
What Bartow does
The City describes this as responsible police work protecting life and property through enforcement of laws and ordinances, with officers preventing, detecting and investigating crime, maintaining law and order, patrolling assigned areas and regulating traffic.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. City of Bartow official Police Officer posting — open the source document
Posting dated 13 February 2026, closed to applications but live at checking; range beginning $27.75/hour = $57,720 at 2,080 hours.
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 Bartow 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. Bartow starts at $57,720, so $10,420 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Bartow Police Department officer make?
Bartow Police Department starts a new officer on $57,720 a year, about $27.75 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 Bartow official Police Officer posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Florida?
It ranks #180 of 303 agencies we have verified in Florida — 123 pay less, 179 pay more in the state — and #1,709 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $8,965 below, and against other municipal agencies $10,420 below.
Compare with another department
Put Bartow 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 FL
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Bartow | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boca Raton Police Services Department | Municipal | 195 | $91,007 | +$33,287 | #244 |
| 2 | Fort Lauderdale Police Department | Municipal | 565 | $81,723 | +$24,003 | #433 |
| 3 | Plantation Police Department | Municipal | 164 | $81,000 | +$23,280 | #459 |
| 4 | Hillsboro Beach Police Department | Municipal | 15 | $80,954 | +$23,234 | #461 |
| 5 | Pinecrest Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $80,912 | +$23,192 | #464 |
| 6 | Sunny Isles Beach Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $80,000 | +$22,280 | #496 |
| 7 | Indian Creek Village Public Safety Department | Municipal | 10 | $79,850 | +$22,130 | #500 |
| 8 | Sunrise Police Department | Municipal | 190 | $79,071 | +$21,351 | #520 |
| 9 | Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,720 | $78,828 | +$21,108 | #526 |
| 10 | Aventura Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $78,556 | +$20,836 | #536 |
| 11 | Longboat Key Police Department | Municipal | 19 | $78,430 | +$20,710 | #543 |
| 12 | Manalapan Police Department | Municipal | 13 | $78,280 | +$20,560 | #549 |
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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