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Carlsbad 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.
Carlsbad Police Department starts at $59,842 a year — about $28.77 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $8,548 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $11,423 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in New Mexico run about 8% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $64,896 would somewhere at average prices — $5,054 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 74 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. 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 isCarlsbad Police Department reported 57 sworn officers and 28 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.8 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 31,936.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 Carlsbad
The Carlsbad Police Department says it is committed to a safe and thriving community through strong leadership, dedicated service and meaningful partnerships. Officers and staff serve with professionalism, integrity and transparency, and the department actively recruits both entry-level and lateral Police Officers
Where the figure comes from
Checked 9 August 2026. City of Carlsbad offici — open the source document
Current ongoing recruitment verified 9 August 2026. The City lists uncertified Police Officer starting pay at $28.77/hour = $59,841.60 annually at 2,080 hours. Entry applicants need U.S. citizenship, age 21, HS/GED, valid driver's license and the City's testing/background requirements; certification is not required at entry. Certified/lateral rates and incentives 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 Carlsbad 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. Carlsbad starts at $59,842, so $11,445 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Carlsbad Police Department officer make?
Carlsbad Police Department starts a new officer on $59,842 a year, about $28.77 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 Carlsbad offici.
Is that good pay for a police officer in New Mexico?
It ranks #6 of 13 agencies we have verified in New Mexico — 7 pay less, 5 pay more in the state — and #1,255 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $8,548 below, and against other municipal agencies $11,423 below.
Compare with another department
Put Carlsbad 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 NM
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Carlsbad | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Fe Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,046 | +$15,205 | #557 |
| 2 | New Mexico State Police | State | 1,174 | $70,845 | +$11,003 | #734 |
| 3 | Albuquerque Police Department | Municipal | 966 | $65,499 | +$5,658 | #991 |
| 4 | San Juan County Sheriff's Office | County | 86 | $63,045 | +$3,203 | #1,109 |
| 5 | Valencia County Sheriff's Office | County | 48 | $62,150 | +$2,309 | #1,149 |
| 7 | McKinley County Sheriff's Office | County | 37 | $59,675 | −$166 | #1,263 |
| 8 | Los Lunas Police Department | Municipal | — | $59,212 | −$630 | #1,279 |
| 9 | Chaves County Sheriff's Office | County | 33 | $56,264 | −$3,578 | #1,389 |
| 10 | Las Cruces Police Department | Municipal | 200 | $54,080 | −$5,762 | #1,466 |
| 11 | Rio Rancho Police Department | Municipal | 134 | $52,000 | −$7,842 | #1,515 |
| 12 | Ruidoso Police Department | Municipal | 12 | $50,336 | −$9,506 | #1,557 |
| 13 | Grant County Sheriff's Office | County | — | $49,691 | −$10,150 | #1,578 |
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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