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Burlington 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.
Burlington Police Department starts at $81,653 a year — about $39.26 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $14,968 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $13,513 above the median for municipal agencies.
How big the department isBurlington Police Department reported 59 sworn officers and 42 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.3 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 44,354.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 Burlington says about itself
We are committed to policing with the citizens of Burlington to achieve a safe, healthy and self-reliant community.
What Burlington does
Burlington Police Officers provide police protection and law-enforcement services within the City under department supervision. The official classification states that officers may later serve as school-resource officers, K-9 officers, field-training officers, detectives, neighborhood-watch coordinators, traffic-safety coordinators and other special assignments designated by the Chief
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Burlington offici — open the source document
Current 2026 posting; official Police Officer minimum $39.26/hour = $81,653.10 annually. The position is regular full-time municipal Police Officer employment and provides police protection and law-enforcement services within the City. Higher steps and specialty assignments are excluded
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 Burlington 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. Burlington starts at $81,653, so $13,513 above the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Burlington Police Department officer make?
Burlington Police Department starts a new officer on $81,653 a year, about $39.26 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 Burlington offici.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Vermont?
It ranks #2 of 16 agencies we have verified in Vermont — 14 pay less, 1 pay more in the state — and #435 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $14,968 above, and against other municipal agencies $13,513 above.
Compare with another department
Put Burlington 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 VT
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Burlington | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont State Police | State | 256 | $84,160 | +$2,507 | #370 |
| 3 | Montpelier Police Department | Municipal | 15 | $80,870 | −$783 | #466 |
| 4 | Williston Police Department | Municipal | 14 | $71,032 | −$10,621 | #873 |
| 5 | Brandon Police Department | Municipal | 2 | $70,720 | −$10,933 | #899 |
| 6 | Rutland City Police Department | Municipal | — | $67,600 | −$14,053 | #1,089 |
| 7 | Colchester Police Department | Municipal | 27 | $66,560 | −$15,093 | #1,156 |
| 8 | South Burlington Police Department | Municipal | 33 | $64,668 | −$16,985 | #1,282 |
| 9 | Winooski Police Department | Municipal | 15 | $63,752 | −$17,901 | #1,333 |
| 10 | Barre Town Police Department | Municipal | 6 | $61,194 | −$20,460 | #1,491 |
| 11 | Stowe Police Department | Municipal | 13 | $60,070 | −$21,583 | #1,560 |
| 12 | Shelburne Police Department | Municipal | 10 | $59,613 | −$22,040 | #1,604 |
| 13 | Barre City Police Department | Municipal | — | $58,531 | −$23,122 | #1,651 |
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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