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Big Lake 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.
Big Lake Police Department starts at $80,267 a year — about $38.59 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $11,877 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $9,003 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Minnesota run about 1% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $81,390 would somewhere at average prices — $1,122 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 91, where goods are 101. 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 isBig Lake Police Department reported 17 sworn officers and 2 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.3 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 13,141.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.
About Big Lake
Big Lake Police Department serves a Sherburne County city of some 12,000 on US Highway 10 between the Twin Cities and St. Cloud, and averages over 12,000 calls for service a year. It runs 19 staff in two service areas: 17 full-time sworn officers, whose Field Services members carry the front-line work, and Support Services covering the chief, a captain, an office manager and a police specialist. It offers residents free premise surveys, vacation house checks, fingerprinting and neighbourhood watch.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. employer-controlled GovernmentJobs/NEOGOV or permitted Minnesota City Jobs municipal posting — open the source document
$38.59/hour x 2,080 = $80,267.20. Permitted municipal-jobs posting expressly seeks experienced and entry-level candidates; POST license or eligibility is sufficient. Class: Police Officer. Trainee class: NO, qualifying figure is attached to the Police Officer class rather than a separately named cadet/recruit/trainee class. Employer describes the position as municipal Police Officer work involving law enforcement, patrol, public safety, investigations, arrests and/or preservation of peace.
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 Big Lake 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. Big Lake starts at $80,267, so $8,980 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Big Lake Police Department officer make?
Big Lake Police Department starts a new officer on $80,267 a year, about $38.59 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 employer-controlled GovernmentJobs/NEOGOV or permitted Minnesota City Jobs municipal posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Minnesota?
It ranks #57 of 100 agencies we have verified in Minnesota — 43 pay less, 56 pay more in the state — and #405 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $11,877 above, and against other municipal agencies $9,003 above.
Compare with another department
Put Big Lake 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 MN
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Big | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blaine Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $101,733 | +$21,466 | #86 |
| 2 | Stillwater Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $94,328 | +$14,061 | #152 |
| 3 | Columbia Heights Police Department | Municipal | 29 | $93,725 | +$13,458 | #157 |
| 4 | Carver County Sheriff's Office | County | 77 | $93,683 | +$13,416 | #158 |
| 5 | Oakdale Police Department | Municipal | 39 | $93,538 | +$13,270 | #161 |
| 6 | Richfield Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $93,226 | +$12,958 | #163 |
| 7 | Maplewood Police Department | Municipal | 56 | $93,038 | +$12,771 | #167 |
| 8 | Forest Lake Police Department | Municipal | 20 | $92,789 | +$12,522 | #169 |
| 9 | Apple Valley Police Department | Municipal | 59 | $92,768 | +$12,501 | #170 |
| 10 | Coon Rapids Police Department | Municipal | 73 | $92,123 | +$11,856 | #179 |
| 11 | Saint Paul Police Department | Municipal | 562 | $91,291 | +$11,024 | #188 |
| 12 | Woodbury Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $91,187 | +$10,920 | #190 |
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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