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Cotati 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.
Cotati Police Department starts at $93,642 a year — about $45.02 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $26,957 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $25,502 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in California run about 11% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $84,576 somewhere at average prices — $9,066 less than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 159 against a national average of 100, where goods are 106. 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 isCotati Police Department reported 12 sworn officers and 6 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.6 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 7,357.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 Cotati says about itself
It is the mission of the Cotati Police Department to facilitate and administer the laws of governing bodies, the orders of the courts, and to direct all energies and resources towards maintaining the health, welfare, and safety of not only the citizens of Cotati, but its visitors as well. Our fundamental mission is to protect the health and well-being of the community by partnering with our citizens, business partners, and stakeholders to sustain a safe and secure living and visiting environment.
What Cotati does
Cotati PD states that its mission is to administer applicable laws and court orders and direct its resources toward the health, welfare, and safety of citizens and visitors
Where the figure comes from
Checked 13 August 2026. $93,642 annual base as published in the current academy-graduate Police Officer recruitment. The current official City job posting, open until filled, expressly invites Academy Graduates and Laterals to apply for Police Officer and publishes $93,642-$113,872 annually. — open the source document
$93,642 annual base as published in the current academy-graduate Police Officer recruitment. The current official City job posting, open until filled, expressly invites Academy Graduates and Laterals to apply for Police Officer and publishes $93,642-$113,872 annually.
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 Cotati 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. Cotati starts at $93,642, so $25,502 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Cotati Police Department officer make?
Cotati Police Department starts a new officer on $93,642 a year, about $45.02 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 $93,642 annual base as published in the current academy-graduate Police Officer recruitment. The current official City job posting, open until filled, expressly invites Academy Graduates and Laterals to apply for Police Officer and publishes $93,642-$113,872 annually..
Is that good pay for a police officer in California?
It ranks #162 of 278 agencies we have verified in California — 116 pay less, 161 pay more in the state — and #201 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $26,957 above, and against other municipal agencies $25,502 above.
Compare with another department
Put Cotati 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 CA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Cotati | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Clara Police Department | Municipal | 141 | $163,619 | +$69,977 | #1 |
| 2 | Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety | Municipal | 227 | $149,443 | +$55,801 | #2 |
| 3 | Redwood City Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $147,942 | +$54,300 | #3 |
| 4 | San Jose Police Department | Municipal | 1,065 | $144,003 | +$50,361 | #4 |
| 5 | Mountain View Police Department | Municipal | 90 | $143,096 | +$49,454 | #5 |
| 6 | San Mateo Police Department | Municipal | 111 | $141,024 | +$47,382 | #6 |
| 7 | Los Altos Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $139,740 | +$46,098 | #7 |
| 8 | Hayward Police Department | Municipal | 171 | $138,965 | +$45,323 | #8 |
| 9 | Milpitas Police Department | Municipal | 84 | $138,261 | +$44,619 | #9 |
| 10 | Los Gatos Police Department | Municipal | 34 | $132,394 | +$38,752 | #10 |
| 11 | Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,071 | $132,263 | +$38,621 | #11 |
| 12 | Menlo Park Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $132,036 | +$38,394 | #12 |
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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