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Delaware 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.
Delaware Police Department starts at $75,254 a year — about $36.18 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $6,864 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $3,990 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Ohio run about 7% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $81,116 would somewhere at average prices — $5,861 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 73 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 isDelaware Police Department reported 56 sworn officers and 10 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.2 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 47,808.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 Delaware says about itself
In line with our community policing philosophy, we collaborate with citizens and various agencies to address the root causes of crime, conflict, and safety concerns, working together to create a safer and harmonious environment.
What Delaware does
Delaware Police Department serves the seat of Delaware County in central Ohio, north of Columbus, and handles about 30,000 calls for service a year as the primary point of contact for residents on both emergency and non-emergency matters. It sets out its aim as helping citizens eliminate the underlying causes of crime, conflict and safety hazards by coordinating an effort across the various branches of city government. Alongside patrol it fields a K-9 unit, drone team, bike unit, SWAT, negotiators, a narcotics unit, detectives, school resource officers and an accident reconstruction unit, and its bike patrol works general patrol and events such as parades and festivals — the department runs a week-long bike patrol school for other police agencies. It offers residents free home security assessments and vacation house checks.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Delaware official Police Officer - Lateral & — open the source document
Opened 12 January 2026; continuous; official entry-level Police Officer range begins $75,254.40
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 Delaware 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. Delaware starts at $75,254, so $3,967 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Delaware Police Department officer make?
Delaware Police Department starts a new officer on $75,254 a year, about $36.18 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 Delaware official Police Officer - Lateral &.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Ohio?
It ranks #12 of 40 agencies we have verified in Ohio — 28 pay less, 11 pay more in the state — and #548 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $6,864 above, and against other municipal agencies $3,990 above.
Compare with another department
Put Delaware 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 OH
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Delaware | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Westlake Police Department | Municipal | — | $88,712 | +$13,458 | #236 |
| 2 | University Heights Police Department | Municipal | 29 | $82,259 | +$7,005 | #343 |
| 3 | Powell Police Department | Municipal | 21 | $81,426 | +$6,172 | #364 |
| 4 | Stow Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $80,288 | +$5,034 | #404 |
| 5 | Cincinnati Police Department | Municipal | 971 | $79,359 | +$4,105 | #423 |
| 6 | Canfield Police Department | Municipal | 21 | $79,002 | +$3,748 | #428 |
| 7 | Mentor Police Department | Municipal | — | $77,849 | +$2,594 | #461 |
| 8 | Beavercreek Police Department | Municipal | 53 | $76,918 | +$1,664 | #482 |
| 9 | Grandview Heights Division of Police | Municipal | 24 | $76,708 | +$1,453 | #487 |
| 10 | Shaker Heights Police Department | Municipal | 68 | $76,566 | +$1,312 | #493 |
| 11 | Centerville Police Department | Municipal | 37 | $75,608 | +$354 | #533 |
| 13 | New Albany Police Department | Municipal | 30 | $73,633 | −$1,622 | #607 |
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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