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Dallas Independent School District 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.
Dallas Independent School District Police Department starts at $70,000 a year — about $33.65 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $3,315 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $9,796 above the median for special jurisdiction agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Texas run about 3% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $72,123 would somewhere at average prices — $2,123 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 88, where goods are 98. 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.
What Dallas Independent School District says about itself
The Dallas Independent School District Police Department protects and serves more than 158,000 students and 21,000 staff members in 228 schools and numerous administrative and service buildings, under the banner "Our Youth, Our Community, Our Commitment". As an educational police department it is committed to increasing student, parent and community engagement, and its specialised units work together to support the department's mission of providing a safe, secure and welcoming learning environment.
What Dallas Independent School District does
The Dallas ISD Police Department is the police force of the second-largest school district in Texas, policing district campuses and facilities rather than a city. It runs its own cadet route: a recruit with no license is hired as a Police Cadet, sent to a certified police academy, and moves to the officer rate on licensing. After a mandatory field training programme, officers are assigned to either the patrol division or the campus services division — the two halves of a school district force, one covering the district's property and events at large, the other placed on campuses. The department describes itself as seeking officers committed to public service and professionalism, who understand human behavior and take pride in the work.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 20 August 2026. Dallas Independent School District — Police Department, Recruiting: Join Us! — open the source document
Dallas ISD Police Department's own recruiting page: "Starting salary for cadets is $50,000 annually while attending the police academy. The salary for licensed police officers starts at $70,000." The $70,000 licensed rate is the entry figure; the $50,000 cadet rate is the pre-license academy class and is excluded, as it is for every other agency on the site. No prior service is required, and this is not a lateral rate: the department states plainly that it accepts applications from people who hold a current TCOLE peace officer license AND from those who do not, and asks only that a Police Cadet applicant be 21 with a high school diploma or equivalency, with college hours preferred rather than required. An additional stipend is granted for higher levels of TCOLE certification.
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 Dallas Independent School District 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. Dallas Independent School District starts at $70,000, so $9,796 above the special jurisdiction middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Dallas Independent School District Police Department officer make?
Dallas Independent School District Police Department starts a new officer on $70,000 a year, about $33.65 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 Dallas Independent School District — Police Department, Recruiting: Join Us!.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Texas?
It ranks #94 of 151 agencies we have verified in Texas — 57 pay less, 93 pay more in the state — and #947 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $3,315 above, and against other special jurisdiction agencies $9,796 above.
Compare with another department
Put Dallas Independent School District 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 TX
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Dallas | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Police Department | Municipal | 153 | $91,106 | +$21,106 | #241 |
| 2 | Frisco Police Department | Municipal | 270 | $90,750 | +$20,750 | #252 |
| 3 | Plano Police Department | Municipal | 400 | $90,729 | +$20,729 | #253 |
| 4 | Grand Prairie Police Department | Municipal | 287 | $90,000 | +$20,000 | #270 |
| 5 | Hurst Police Department | Municipal | 61 | $87,048 | +$17,048 | #322 |
| 6 | Lewisville Police Department | Municipal | 181 | $86,268 | +$16,268 | #335 |
| 7 | Coppell Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $84,968 | +$14,968 | #355 |
| 8 | Rockwall Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $84,448 | +$14,448 | #362 |
| 9 | Farmers Branch Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $84,440 | +$14,440 | #363 |
| 10 | The Colony Police Department | Municipal | 86 | $84,082 | +$14,082 | #371 |
| 11 | Baytown Police Department | Municipal | 172 | $84,049 | +$14,049 | #372 |
| 12 | McKinney Police Department | Municipal | 248 | $83,992 | +$13,992 | #374 |
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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