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California Highway Patrol 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.
California Highway Patrol starts at $88,548 a year — about $42.57 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $20,158 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $23,550 above the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in California run about 11% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $79,975 somewhere at average prices — $8,573 less than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 159 against a national average of 100, where goods are 106. 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 isCalifornia Highway Patrol reported 7,168 sworn officers to the FBI for 2025.No rate is shown: this agency does not police a single population the FBI publishes a figure for. 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 California Highway Patrol says about itself
The California Highway Patrol was created in 1929 to provide uniform traffic law enforcement throughout the state. Assuring the safe, convenient and efficient transportation of people and goods on our highway system is still our primary purpose. The mission of the California Highway Patrol is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service, and Security.
What California Highway Patrol does
The California Highway Patrol is the nation's largest state police agency, with roughly 11,000 employees and about 100 offices. Its primary mission is the management and regulation of traffic for safe, lawful and efficient use of the highway transportation system; since the 1995 merger with the California State Police it also protects state employees, including the governor, and state property.
Shifts at California Highway Patrol
CHP General Order 100.51, revised December 2025, sets the staffing of a field patrol unit: normally one officer between 0600 and 2200 hours, and normally two officers between 2200 and 0600. Enforcement motorcycle riders are not assigned to night or graveyard shifts for enforcement.
Day and graveyard are different jobs, staffed differently. BlueShifts marks a day, a night and a 24-hour tour with their own icons, so a month of mixed watches reads at a glance.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. California Highway Patrol official Examination Bulletin — Officer, CHP — open the source document
Current official examination bulletin checked July 2026; monthly Officer range $7,379–$9,153
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 California Highway Patrol 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. California Highway Patrol starts at $88,548, so $23,550 above the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a California Highway Patrol officer make?
California Highway Patrol starts a new officer on $88,548 a year, about $42.57 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 California Highway Patrol official Examination Bulletin — Officer, CHP.
Is that good pay for a police officer in California?
It ranks #152 of 222 agencies we have verified in California — 70 pay less, 151 pay more in the state — and #239 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $20,158 above, and against other state agencies $23,550 above.
What shifts do California Highway Patrol officers work?
CHP General Order 100.51, revised December 2025, sets the staffing of a field patrol unit: normally one officer between 0600 and 2200 hours, and normally two officers between 2200 and 0600. Enforcement motorcycle riders are not assigned to night or graveyard shifts for enforcement. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put California Highway Patrol 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 CA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs California | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Clara Police Department | Municipal | 141 | $163,619 | +$75,071 | #1 |
| 2 | Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety | Municipal | 227 | $149,443 | +$60,895 | #2 |
| 3 | Redwood City Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $147,942 | +$59,394 | #3 |
| 4 | San Jose Police Department | Municipal | 1,065 | $144,003 | +$55,455 | #4 |
| 5 | Mountain View Police Department | Municipal | 90 | $143,096 | +$54,548 | #5 |
| 6 | San Mateo Police Department | Municipal | 111 | $141,024 | +$52,476 | #6 |
| 7 | Los Altos Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $139,740 | +$51,192 | #7 |
| 8 | Hayward Police Department | Municipal | 171 | $138,965 | +$50,417 | #8 |
| 9 | Milpitas Police Department | Municipal | 84 | $138,261 | +$49,713 | #9 |
| 10 | Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,071 | $132,263 | +$43,715 | #10 |
| 11 | Menlo Park Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $132,036 | +$43,488 | #11 |
| 12 | Campbell Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $131,747 | +$43,199 | #12 |
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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