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Columbus 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.
Columbus Police Department starts at $65,340 a year — about $31.41 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $1,345 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $2,800 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Nebraska run about 10% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $72,517 would somewhere at average prices — $7,177 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 75 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. 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 isColumbus Police Department reported 37 sworn officers and 8 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.5 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 25,392.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 Columbus says about itself
Our mission is to serve and protect our community with integrity, empathy, and professionalism. We are committed to upholding the law, promoting safety, and fostering trust through open communication and collaboration with the residents we serve.
What Columbus does
Columbus Police Department employs sworn Police Officers represented through collective bargaining by FOP Lodge 72.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. City of Columbus Police Salary & Benefits — open the source document
City states Police Officer Step 1 is $5,157/month and that officers are placed at Step 2, $5,445/month, upon successful completion of field training. Class: Police Officer. Trainee class: City states officers move to Step 2 after successful completion of field training. Sworn members below captain are represented by Columbus FOP Lodge 72.
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.
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How this level compares
Where Columbus 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. Columbus starts at $65,340, so $2,800 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Columbus Police Department officer make?
Columbus Police Department starts a new officer on $65,340 a year, about $31.41 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 Columbus Police Salary & Benefits.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Nebraska?
It ranks #13 of 20 agencies we have verified in Nebraska — 7 pay less, 12 pay more in the state — and #1,235 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $1,345 below, and against other municipal agencies $2,800 below.
Compare with another department
Put Columbus 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 NE
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Columbus | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Omaha Police Department | Municipal | 788 | $79,580 | +$14,240 | #505 |
| 2 | Lincoln Police Department | Municipal | 351 | $74,568 | +$9,228 | #694 |
| 3 | Sarpy County Sheriff's Office | County | 114 | $73,861 | +$8,521 | #724 |
| 4 | La Vista Police Department | Municipal | 42 | $73,653 | +$8,313 | #730 |
| 5 | Lancaster County Sheriff's Office | County | 86 | $72,280 | +$6,940 | #796 |
| 6 | Nebraska State Patrol | State | 410 | $70,195 | +$4,855 | #928 |
| 7 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 30 | $70,042 | +$4,702 | #935 |
| 8 | Papillion Police Department | Municipal | 48 | $69,086 | +$3,746 | #985 |
| 9 | Douglas County Sheriff's Office | County | 155 | $68,744 | +$3,404 | #1,008 |
| 10 | Grand Island Police Department | Municipal | 89 | $67,621 | +$2,281 | #1,086 |
| 11 | Dodge County Sheriff's Office | County | 21 | $66,200 | +$860 | #1,176 |
| 12 | Hastings Police Department | Municipal | 35 | $65,790 | +$450 | #1,202 |
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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