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Charleston 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.
Charleston Police Department starts at $57,485 a year — about $27.64 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $10,905 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $13,779 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Charleston, WV run about 11% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $64,796 would somewhere at average prices — $7,311 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 51 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. 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.
How big the department isCharleston Police Department reported 152 sworn officers and 23 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 3.3 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 45,958.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 Charleston
Charleston Police Department provides municipal patrol and law-enforcement services for the City.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. City of Charleston FY2026 Municipal Budget — open the source document
FY2026 City police pay table shows the bottom Patrol Officer hourly rate at $27.637. Annualized at 2,080 hours, the figure is $57,484.96. Class: Patrol Officer. Trainee class: No separate lower recruit/cadet salary used. City FY2026 budget identifies Patrol Officer compensation within the Charleston Police Department.
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 Charleston 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. Charleston starts at $57,485, so $13,802 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Charleston Police Department officer make?
Charleston Police Department starts a new officer on $57,485 a year, about $27.64 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 Charleston FY2026 Municipal Budget.
Is that good pay for a police officer in West Virginia?
It ranks #4 of 10 agencies we have verified in West Virginia — 6 pay less, 3 pay more in the state — and #1,361 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $10,905 below, and against other municipal agencies $13,779 below.
Compare with another department
Put Charleston 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 WV
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Charleston | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berkeley County Sheriff's Office | County | 64 | $59,187 | +$1,702 | #1,280 |
| 2 | Morgantown Police Department | Municipal | 57 | $58,157 | +$672 | #1,312 |
| 3 | Huntington Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $57,787 | +$302 | #1,340 |
| 5 | Kanawha County Sheriff's Office | County | 95 | $57,054 | −$431 | #1,367 |
| 6 | Martinsburg Police Department | Municipal | 34 | $55,710 | −$1,775 | #1,404 |
| 7 | Jefferson County Sheriff's Office | County | 34 | $55,125 | −$2,360 | #1,424 |
| 8 | Fairmont Police Department | Municipal | 33 | $53,597 | −$3,888 | #1,484 |
| 9 | West Virginia State Police | State | 440 | $45,784 | −$11,701 | #1,617 |
| 10 | West Virginia Division of Natural Resources — Natural Resources Police | State | — | $33,994 | −$23,491 | #1,673 |
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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