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Chatham County 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.
Chatham County Police Department starts at $56,947 a year — about $27.38 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $11,443 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $14,317 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Georgia run about 4% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $59,139 would somewhere at average prices — $2,192 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 89 against a national average of 100, where goods are 99. 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 isChatham County Police Department reported 132 sworn officers and 22 civilian staff 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 Chatham County says about itself
The mission of the Chatham County Police Department is to provide excellence in police services while building partnerships with the citizens in the community in which we serve.
What Chatham County does
Chatham County Police Department is the county's police agency, and trains its own recruits to serve in law enforcement.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 13 August 2026. $56,947 annually immediately upon academy completion / POST certification. — open the source document
Opening date January 1, 2026; continuous. $56,947 annually immediately upon academy completion / POST certification. Official Chatham County Police Officer Recruit posting states recruits earn $48,629 and, upon passing the academy and receiving POST certification, are immediately promoted to Police Officer with poten
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 Chatham County 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. Chatham County starts at $56,947, so $14,340 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Chatham County Police Department officer make?
Chatham County Police Department starts a new officer on $56,947 a year, about $27.38 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 $56,947 annually immediately upon academy completion / POST certification..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Georgia?
It ranks #17 of 25 agencies we have verified in Georgia — 8 pay less, 16 pay more in the state — and #1,369 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $11,443 below, and against other municipal agencies $14,317 below.
Compare with another department
Put Chatham County 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 GA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Chatham | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sandy Springs Police Department | Municipal | 149 | $71,686 | +$14,739 | #687 |
| 2 | Georgia Bureau of Investigation | State | 338 | $64,977 | +$8,030 | #1,027 |
| 3 | Georgia State Patrol | State | — | $63,684 | +$6,737 | #1,072 |
| 4 | South Fulton Police Department | Municipal | 213 | $63,440 | +$6,493 | #1,086 |
| 5 | Roswell Police Department | Municipal | 154 | $62,462 | +$5,515 | #1,135 |
| 6 | Savannah Police Department | Municipal | 425 | $61,989 | +$5,042 | #1,156 |
| 7 | Alpharetta Police Department | Municipal | 105 | $61,100 | +$4,153 | #1,190 |
| 8 | Atlanta Police Department | Municipal | 1,817 | $60,987 | +$4,040 | #1,196 |
| 9 | Snellville Police Department | Municipal | 50 | $60,905 | +$3,958 | #1,199 |
| 10 | Fulton County Sheriff's Office | County | 349 | $60,000 | +$3,053 | #1,240 |
| 11 | Fulton County Police Department | Municipal | 349 | $60,000 | +$3,053 | #1,249 |
| 12 | Athens-Clarke County Police Department | Municipal | 235 | $59,287 | +$2,340 | #1,275 |
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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