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Duluth 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.
Duluth Police Department starts at $74,172 a year — about $35.66 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $5,782 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $2,908 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Duluth, MN-WI run about 11% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $83,557 would somewhere at average prices — $9,385 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 71 against a national average of 100, where goods are 95. Based on price levels for this metropolitan 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 isDuluth Police Department reported 131 sworn officers and 35 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.5 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 88,307.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 Duluth
Duluth Police Department is the third-largest municipal police department in Minnesota, with an authorized strength of about 158 officers and 40 support staff and a 2025 budget of roughly $29.3 million. It works in three divisions — Patrol, Investigative and Administrative — each led by a deputy chief. The department describes community policing as a primary focus, building partnerships for problem-solving and crime prevention, and says its programmes have brought it national recognition.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. employer-controlled GovernmentJobs/NEOGOV or permitted Minnesota City Jobs municipal posting — open the source document
Employer explicitly publishes 2026 starting annual base salary $74,172 for the general Police Officer recruitment. Separate lateral recruitment requiring three years was not used. Class: Police Officer. Trainee class: NO, qualifying figure is attached to the Police Officer class rather than a separately named cadet/recruit/trainee class. Employer describes the position as municipal Police Officer work involving law enforcement, patrol, public safety, investigations, arrests and/or preservation of peace.
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 Duluth 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. Duluth starts at $74,172, so $2,885 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Duluth Police Department officer make?
Duluth Police Department starts a new officer on $74,172 a year, about $35.66 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 employer-controlled GovernmentJobs/NEOGOV or permitted Minnesota City Jobs municipal posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Minnesota?
It ranks #71 of 100 agencies we have verified in Minnesota — 29 pay less, 70 pay more in the state — and #586 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $5,782 above, and against other municipal agencies $2,908 above.
Compare with another department
Put Duluth 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 MN
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Duluth | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blaine Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $101,733 | +$27,561 | #86 |
| 2 | Stillwater Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $94,328 | +$20,156 | #152 |
| 3 | Columbia Heights Police Department | Municipal | 29 | $93,725 | +$19,553 | #157 |
| 4 | Carver County Sheriff's Office | County | 77 | $93,683 | +$19,511 | #158 |
| 5 | Oakdale Police Department | Municipal | 39 | $93,538 | +$19,366 | #161 |
| 6 | Richfield Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $93,226 | +$19,054 | #163 |
| 7 | Maplewood Police Department | Municipal | 56 | $93,038 | +$18,866 | #167 |
| 8 | Forest Lake Police Department | Municipal | 20 | $92,789 | +$18,617 | #169 |
| 9 | Apple Valley Police Department | Municipal | 59 | $92,768 | +$18,596 | #170 |
| 10 | Coon Rapids Police Department | Municipal | 73 | $92,123 | +$17,951 | #179 |
| 11 | Saint Paul Police Department | Municipal | 562 | $91,291 | +$17,119 | #188 |
| 12 | Woodbury Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $91,187 | +$17,015 | #190 |
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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