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Belgrade 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.
Belgrade Police Department starts at $71,761 a year — about $34.50 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $3,371 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $497 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Montana run about 5% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $75,821 would somewhere at average prices — $4,060 more than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 72 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.
How big the department isBelgrade Police Department reported 26 sworn officers and 5 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.9 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 13,314.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 Belgrade says about itself
The Patrol Division is committed to professional, ethical, and community-focused policing. Through visible presence, timely response, and respectful engagement, patrol officers work every day to keep Belgrade safe while strengthening partnerships with the community they serve.
What Belgrade does
Belgrade Police Department employs full-time sworn Police Officers and recruits both entry-level and POST-certified candidates. Its officers are covered by the City's police collective-bargaining agreement and Montana municipal-police law.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. City of Belgrade / Belgrade Police Officers Association Collective Bargaining Agreement FY2026-FY2028, Table A — open the source document
Their source is effective 1 July 2026.
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 Belgrade 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. Belgrade starts at $71,761, so $474 above the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Belgrade Police Department officer make?
Belgrade Police Department starts a new officer on $71,761 a year, about $34.50 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 Belgrade / Belgrade Police Officers Association Collective Bargaining Agreement FY2026-FY2028, Table A.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Montana?
It ranks #9 of 23 agencies we have verified in Montana — 14 pay less, 8 pay more in the state — and #682 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $3,371 above, and against other municipal agencies $497 above.
Compare with another department
Put Belgrade 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 MT
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Belgrade | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missoula Police Department | Municipal | 117 | $95,326 | +$23,565 | #142 |
| 2 | Bozeman Police Department | Municipal | 73 | $79,581 | +$7,820 | #416 |
| 3 | Gallatin County Sheriff's Office | County | 72 | $79,456 | +$7,695 | #421 |
| 4 | Kalispell Police Department | Municipal | 52 | $79,334 | +$7,573 | #424 |
| 5 | Missoula County Sheriff's Office | County | 59 | $77,563 | +$5,802 | #468 |
| 6 | Great Falls Police Department | Municipal | 90 | $76,253 | +$4,492 | #504 |
| 7 | Cascade County Sheriff's Office | County | 43 | $73,778 | +$2,016 | #603 |
| 8 | Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office | County | 65 | $72,800 | +$1,039 | #637 |
| 10 | Montana Highway Patrol | State | 225 | $71,240 | −$521 | #712 |
| 11 | Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office | County | 54 | $69,285 | −$2,476 | #799 |
| 12 | Billings Police Department | Municipal | 164 | $69,056 | −$2,705 | #812 |
| 13 | Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement Department | Municipal | — | $67,648 | −$4,113 | #882 |
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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