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Bloomington 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.
Bloomington Police Department starts at $81,304 a year — about $39.09 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $12,914 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $10,040 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Bloomington, IL run about 6% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $86,922 would somewhere at average prices — $5,618 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 75 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. Based on price levels for this metropolitan 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 Bloomington says about itself
As a leading law enforcement agency, the Bloomington Police Department will focus on enhancing the City of Bloomington's livability through continuous application of innovation and strong partnerships with our community while applying the values of honesty, integrity, professionalism, commitment to service, reverence for law and respect for human dignity.
What Bloomington does
Bloomington Police Department serves a central Illinois city of more than 78,000 and has practised a community policing philosophy for many years. Its patrol division is the department's frontline presence, patrolling and responding citywide, supported by units covering K-9, drones, crime analysis, quality-of-life issues, school resource work, tactical response and an honour guard. Its Emergency Communications Center is staffed around the clock and dispatches police, fire and medical services, and is an Accredited Center of Excellence of the International Academy of Emergency Dispatch. An independent Office of Professional Standards investigates complaints of misconduct and reports on those investigations to the city's Public Safety Community Relations Board.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Bloomington Illinois official 2026 Entry — open the source document
Opened 2 June 2026; official entry-level minimum $39.09/hour = $81,304.16
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 Bloomington 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. Bloomington starts at $81,304, so $10,017 above the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Bloomington Police Department officer make?
Bloomington Police Department starts a new officer on $81,304 a year, about $39.09 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 Bloomington Illinois official 2026 Entry.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Illinois?
It ranks #13 of 35 agencies we have verified in Illinois — 22 pay less, 12 pay more in the state — and #368 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $12,914 above, and against other municipal agencies $10,040 above.
Compare with another department
Put Bloomington 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 IL
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Bloomington | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vernon Hills Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $94,460 | +$13,156 | #151 |
| 2 | Wilmette Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $93,156 | +$11,852 | #165 |
| 3 | Aurora Police Department | Municipal | 328 | $92,248 | +$10,944 | #176 |
| 4 | Des Plaines Police Department | Municipal | 97 | $91,440 | +$10,136 | #186 |
| 5 | Highland Park Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $91,158 | +$9,854 | #191 |
| 6 | Illinois State Police | State | 1,821 | $90,828 | +$9,524 | #199 |
| 7 | River Forest Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $90,106 | +$8,802 | #213 |
| 8 | Elgin Police Department | Municipal | 203 | $88,274 | +$6,970 | #245 |
| 9 | Lake County Sheriff's Office | County | 113 | $87,297 | +$5,993 | #259 |
| 10 | Woodridge Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $84,781 | +$3,477 | #294 |
| 11 | DeKalb Police Department | Municipal | 72 | $83,449 | +$2,145 | #326 |
| 12 | Rolling Meadows Police Department | Municipal | 49 | $81,439 | +$135 | #362 |
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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