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Columbia Heights 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.
Columbia Heights Police Department starts at $93,725 a year — about $45.06 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $27,040 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $25,585 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Minnesota run about 1% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $95,035 would somewhere at average prices — $1,311 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 91, where goods are 101. 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 isColumbia Heights Police Department reported 29 sworn officers and 6 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.2 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 23,420.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 Columbia Heights says about itself
The Columbia Heights Police Department is committed to active partnerships with the community in order to protect life and property, innovatively solve problems, and enhance the safety and quality of life in the communities we serve. Its core values spell the department's own initials - Committed, Helpful, Professional, Dedicated - and it provides 24-hour service to the cities of Columbia Heights and Hilltop with a sworn staff of 29 full-time officers.
What Columbia Heights does
Columbia Heights Police Department emphasizes community policing and innovative crime prevention and recruits new and lateral Police Officers.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. employer-controlled City of Columbia Heights NEOGOV Police Officer posting — open the source document
Their source is effective 10 June 2026.
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 Columbia Heights 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. Columbia Heights starts at $93,725, so $25,585 above the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Columbia Heights Police Department officer make?
Columbia Heights Police Department starts a new officer on $93,725 a year, about $45.06 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 employer-controlled City of Columbia Heights NEOGOV Police Officer posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Minnesota?
It ranks #3 of 102 agencies we have verified in Minnesota — 99 pay less, 2 pay more in the state — and #198 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $27,040 above, and against other municipal agencies $25,585 above.
Compare with another department
Put Columbia Heights 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 MN
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Columbia | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blaine Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $101,733 | +$8,008 | #111 |
| 2 | Stillwater Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $94,328 | +$603 | #193 |
| 4 | Carver County Sheriff's Office | County | 77 | $93,683 | −$42 | #200 |
| 5 | Oakdale Police Department | Municipal | 39 | $93,538 | −$187 | #203 |
| 6 | Richfield Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $93,226 | −$499 | #205 |
| 7 | Maplewood Police Department | Municipal | 56 | $93,038 | −$686 | #209 |
| 8 | Forest Lake Police Department | Municipal | 20 | $92,789 | −$936 | #212 |
| 9 | Apple Valley Police Department | Municipal | 59 | $92,768 | −$957 | #213 |
| 10 | Coon Rapids Police Department | Municipal | 73 | $92,123 | −$1,602 | #226 |
| 11 | Saint Paul Police Department | Municipal | 562 | $91,291 | −$2,434 | #237 |
| 12 | Woodbury Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $91,187 | −$2,538 | #239 |
| 13 | Sherburne County Sheriff's Office | County | 89 | $90,834 | −$2,891 | #250 |
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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