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Belen 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.
Belen Police Department starts at $57,845 a year — about $27.81 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $8,840 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $10,295 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in New Mexico run about 8% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $62,730 would somewhere at average prices — $4,885 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 74 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. 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.
What Belen says about itself
The Belen Police Department proudly serves the City of Belen, a community of 7269 residents, but it services more than 22,000 people from neighboring communities.
What Belen does
The Belen Police Department is the municipal force for the City of Belen in Valencia County, south of Albuquerque. The City says it serves a town of 7,269 and more than 22,000 people from neighbouring communities.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 26 September 2026. City of Belen, Police Recruitment page: "Certified/Lateral pay: $27.81". — open the source document
The City prints two rates: "Uncertified pay: $22.66", paid while in the academy, and "Certified/Lateral pay: $27.81", which a certified new hire and a lateral both receive. The certified rate is the first rate a certified officer is paid, so it is the figure, converted at 2,080 hours ($57,844.80). The page is undated. Excluded: the $1,000 annual clothing allowance.
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 Belen 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. Belen starts at $57,845, so $10,295 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Belen Police Department officer make?
Belen Police Department starts a new officer on $57,845 a year, about $27.81 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 Belen, Police Recruitment page: "Certified/Lateral pay: $27.81"..
Is that good pay for a police officer in New Mexico?
It ranks #13 of 22 agencies we have verified in New Mexico — 9 pay less, 12 pay more in the state — and #1,696 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $8,840 below, and against other municipal agencies $10,295 below.
Compare with another department
Put Belen 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 NM
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Belen | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Fe Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,046 | +$17,202 | #674 |
| 2 | New Mexico State Police | State | 1,174 | $70,845 | +$13,000 | #891 |
| 3 | Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office | County | 141 | $68,318 | +$10,473 | #1,032 |
| 4 | Farmington Police Department | Municipal | 119 | $66,102 | +$8,257 | #1,179 |
| 5 | Albuquerque Police Department | Municipal | 966 | $65,499 | +$7,654 | #1,220 |
| 6 | San Juan County Sheriff's Office | County | 86 | $63,045 | +$5,200 | #1,381 |
| 7 | Las Vegas Police Department | Municipal | 27 | $62,400 | +$4,555 | #1,424 |
| 8 | Valencia County Sheriff's Office | County | 48 | $62,150 | +$4,306 | #1,439 |
| 9 | Lincoln County Sheriff's Office | County | — | $60,757 | +$2,912 | #1,520 |
| 10 | Carlsbad Police Department | Municipal | 57 | $59,842 | +$1,997 | #1,589 |
| 11 | McKinley County Sheriff's Office | County | 37 | $59,675 | +$1,830 | #1,598 |
| 12 | Los Lunas Police Department | Municipal | — | $59,212 | +$1,367 | #1,620 |
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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