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Benton 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.
Benton Police Department starts at $51,000 a year — about $24.52 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $15,685 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $17,140 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Arkansas run about 13% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $58,663 would somewhere at average prices — $7,663 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 58 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. 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 isBenton Police Department reported 83 sworn officers and 8 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.1 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 38,869.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 Benton says about itself
The Benton Police Department is a progressive, professional law enforcement agency.
What Benton does
The Benton Police Department is the municipal force for the City of Benton, the seat of Saline County, Arkansas. It is organised in Investigations, Patrol, Administration and Special Operations divisions.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 25 September 2026. Benton Police Department, "Become a BNPD Officer" page: "Starting BasePay: $51,000". — open the source document
One starting base pay, printed as an annual and used as printed. New officers go through the 13-week Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy and a 16-week field training programme, and no separate academy rate is printed, so uncertified hires start on this rate. The page is undated beyond a 2026 copyright and an application window running "Now - September 15th". Excluded: the page's own "At Least $56,383" total, which adds holiday pay and allowances, the holiday pay "Starting at $2,353", clothing allowance, and certificate and degree pay.
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 Benton 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. Benton starts at $51,000, so $17,140 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Benton Police Department officer make?
Benton Police Department starts a new officer on $51,000 a year, about $24.52 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 Benton Police Department, "Become a BNPD Officer" page: "Starting BasePay: $51,000"..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Arkansas?
It ranks #10 of 17 agencies we have verified in Arkansas — 7 pay less, 9 pay more in the state — and #2,032 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $15,685 below, and against other municipal agencies $17,140 below.
Compare with another department
Put Benton 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 AR
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Benton | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arkansas State Police | State | — | $67,675 | +$16,675 | #1,080 |
| 2 | Rogers Police Department | Municipal | 140 | $61,363 | +$10,363 | #1,481 |
| 3 | Little Rock Police Department | Municipal | 535 | $57,928 | +$6,928 | #1,686 |
| 4 | Fayetteville Police Department | Municipal | 152 | $57,699 | +$6,699 | #1,713 |
| 5 | Bentonville Police Department | Municipal | 99 | $55,950 | +$4,950 | #1,797 |
| 6 | North Little Rock Police Department | Municipal | 175 | $55,068 | +$4,068 | #1,849 |
| 7 | Farmington Police Department | Municipal | 19 | $54,251 | +$3,251 | #1,898 |
| 8 | Jonesboro Police Department | Municipal | 163 | $51,501 | +$501 | #2,013 |
| 9 | Lowell Police Department | Municipal | 20 | $51,491 | +$491 | #2,014 |
| 11 | Conway Police Department | Municipal | 127 | $50,924 | −$76 | #2,037 |
| 12 | Pulaski County Sheriff's Office | County | 141 | $50,211 | −$789 | #2,068 |
| 13 | Fort Smith Police Department | Municipal | 155 | $50,003 | −$997 | #2,073 |
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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