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Dickinson 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.
Dickinson Police Department starts at $60,345 a year — about $29.01 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $8,045 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $10,919 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in North Dakota run about 11% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $67,835 would somewhere at average prices — $7,490 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 71 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. 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 isDickinson Police Department reported 44 sworn officers and 24 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.7 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 25,670.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.
About Dickinson
Dickinson Police Department provides municipal law-enforcement services centered on public safety, protection of life and property, crime prevention and investigation, traffic enforcement and responsive community service. Official City materials emphasize professional policing and cooperation with the community
Shifts at Dickinson
The Patrol Division is divided into two, 12-hour shifts: dayshift and nightshift. Thirty sworn officers make up the division, with four sergeants, four corporals and twenty-four patrol officers.
Two 12-hour shifts covering the whole day means your rest days move through the week rather than landing on the same ones, and a swap with the opposite shift flips your body clock. BlueShifts keeps the whole run visible months ahead so you can see which weekends you actually have before you commit to them.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Dickinson official Police Officer (Lateral or Entry Level) — open the source document
Opened 3 March 2026; continuous; official entry-level Police Officer range begins $60,345 annually; lateral officers are separately listed at $72,006+
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 Dickinson 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. Dickinson starts at $60,345, so $10,942 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Dickinson Police Department officer make?
Dickinson Police Department starts a new officer on $60,345 a year, about $29.01 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 Dickinson official Police Officer (Lateral or Entry Level).
Is that good pay for a police officer in North Dakota?
It ranks #9 of 9 agencies we have verified in North Dakota — 0 pay less, 8 pay more in the state — and #1,220 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $8,045 below, and against other municipal agencies $10,919 below.
What shifts do Dickinson Police Department officers work?
The Patrol Division is divided into two, 12-hour shifts: dayshift and nightshift. Thirty sworn officers make up the division, with four sergeants, four corporals and twenty-four patrol officers. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put Dickinson 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 ND
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Dickinson | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota Highway Patrol | State | 165 | $73,332 | +$12,987 | #614 |
| 2 | Grand Forks Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $69,326 | +$8,981 | #797 |
| 3 | Fargo Police Department | Municipal | 185 | $68,494 | +$8,149 | #836 |
| 4 | North Dakota Game and Fish Department — Enforcement Division | State | — | $65,808 | +$5,463 | #977 |
| 5 | Williston Police Department | Municipal | 64 | $65,520 | +$5,175 | #990 |
| 6 | West Fargo Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $64,376 | +$4,031 | #1,046 |
| 7 | Bismarck Police Department | Municipal | 128 | $63,123 | +$2,778 | #1,104 |
| 8 | Richland County Sheriff's Office | County | 18 | $62,213 | +$1,868 | #1,148 |
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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