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El Paso 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.
El Paso Police Department starts at $56,790 a year — about $27.30 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $11,600 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $14,474 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Texas run about 3% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $58,512 would somewhere at average prices — $1,722 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.
How big the department isEl Paso Police Department reported 1,135 sworn officers and 272 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.7 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 682,310.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 El Paso
The El Paso Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency for El Paso, Texas, with more than 1,000 sworn officers. Recruits complete a 36-week training academy covering criminal law, investigation, defensive tactics, vehicle operations and firearms, using CrossFit as its strength and conditioning method, and finish by sitting the TCOLE state licensing examination. Officers must complete at least 45 college credit hours within their first three years, and may apply for promotion to detective after four years.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 18 August 2026. El Paso Police Department recruiting, Salary — pay schedule effective 1 September 2025 — open the source document
The department publishes one schedule for every rank, effective 1 September 2025. A RECRUIT in the 36-week academy is paid $24.57 an hour, which the schedule itself annualises to $51,105.60; on graduating and being sworn in, the officer moves to the POLICE OFFICER class at $56,790, so the entry figure is the rate on being sworn rather than the academy rate. That class covers the first four years and runs to a maximum of $65,742, with an automatic advance one level each year on the officer's anniversary date. Beyond it the schedule reads $69,029 to $79,910 for Advanced Officer or Detective at five to eight years and $84,025 to $98,420 for Senior Officer at nine to eighteen. NO PRIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED: a high school diploma or GED plus six months of work involving public contact will qualify, or two years of honourable full-time military service, and the academy leads to the TCOLE licensing examination. A separate LATERAL schedule starting at $65,742 for three to four years of service is EXCLUDED, since it is open only to officers who are already certified. Excluded as add-ons: TCOLE proficiency pay of $83.33 a month at intermediate, $125.00 advanced and $166.66 master; education pay of $75.00 a month for an associate degree, $200.00 for a bachelor's and $250.00 for a master's; the 6% shift differential for evenings and weekends; 7% for field training officers; motorcycle hazard pay of $150.00 a fortnight; and $50.00 a month for the Special Operations Group.
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 El Paso 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. El Paso starts at $56,790, so $14,497 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a El Paso Police Department officer make?
El Paso Police Department starts a new officer on $56,790 a year, about $27.30 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 El Paso Police Department recruiting, Salary — pay schedule effective 1 September 2025.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Texas?
It ranks #119 of 140 agencies we have verified in Texas — 21 pay less, 118 pay more in the state — and #1,375 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $11,600 below, and against other municipal agencies $14,474 below.
Compare with another department
Put El Paso 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 El | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Police Department | Municipal | 153 | $91,106 | +$34,316 | #192 |
| 2 | Frisco Police Department | Municipal | 270 | $90,750 | +$33,960 | #200 |
| 3 | Plano Police Department | Municipal | 414 | $90,729 | +$33,939 | #201 |
| 4 | Grand Prairie Police Department | Municipal | 287 | $90,000 | +$33,210 | #216 |
| 5 | Hurst Police Department | Municipal | — | $87,048 | +$30,258 | #264 |
| 6 | Lewisville Police Department | Municipal | 181 | $86,268 | +$29,478 | #276 |
| 7 | Coppell Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $84,968 | +$28,178 | #293 |
| 8 | Rockwall Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $84,448 | +$27,658 | #300 |
| 9 | The Colony Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,082 | +$27,292 | #306 |
| 10 | Baytown Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,049 | +$27,259 | #307 |
| 11 | McKinney Police Department | Municipal | 248 | $83,992 | +$27,202 | #309 |
| 12 | Mesquite Police Department | Municipal | 260 | $83,869 | +$27,079 | #312 |
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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