Home › Police pay › Washington › Ellensburg Police Department
Ellensburg 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.
Ellensburg Police Department starts at $81,324 a year — about $39.10 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $14,639 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $13,184 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Washington run about 7% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $75,995 somewhere at average prices — $5,329 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 126 against a national average of 100, where goods are 104. 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 isEllensburg Police Department reported 30 sworn officers and 7 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.4 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 20,873.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 Ellensburg says about itself
The mission of the Ellensburg Police Department is to maintain peace and order by protecting our community through action, while serving with respect, integrity and innovation, serving with pride, compassion and excellence. The department recognises that effective policing can only be achieved with the cooperation of the residents of the City of Ellensburg to ensure we live and work in a safe community, and our community is safest when citizens are involved and proactive in detection and prevention. It works to enhance the quality of life in the community by providing a safe environment in unity with community members regardless of race, gender, or social standing.
What Ellensburg does
The Ellensburg Police Department provides municipal law-enforcement services through patrol, investigations and related public-safety functions. The City's employment materials identify Patrol, Investigations, Animal Control, Code Enforcement and Records divisions and maintain separate entry-level, academy-graduate and lateral Police Officer hiring routes
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Ellensburg official Police Department employment page and 2026-2028 Police co — open the source document
Their source is effective 1 January 2026.
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.
BlueShifts. Plan Your Year. Own Your Time.
The shift calendar built for your rotation, off-duty work, and life on and off the clock.
Save your shift schedule once and BlueShifts fills the rest of the year in.
How this level compares
Where Ellensburg 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. Ellensburg starts at $81,324, so $13,184 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Ellensburg Police Department officer make?
Ellensburg Police Department starts a new officer on $81,324 a year, about $39.10 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 Ellensburg official Police Department employment page and 2026-2028 Police co.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Washington?
It ranks #63 of 92 agencies we have verified in Washington — 29 pay less, 62 pay more in the state — and #447 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $14,639 above, and against other municipal agencies $13,184 above.
Compare with another department
Put Ellensburg 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 WA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Ellensburg | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Police Department | Municipal | 1,064 | $117,792 | +$36,468 | #38 |
| 2 | Redmond Police Department | Municipal | 81 | $110,435 | +$29,111 | #59 |
| 3 | Auburn Police Department | Municipal | 120 | $108,386 | +$27,062 | #68 |
| 4 | Lynnwood Police Department | Municipal | 71 | $106,371 | +$25,047 | #81 |
| 5 | Everett Police Department | Municipal | 207 | $102,516 | +$21,192 | #106 |
| 6 | Vancouver Police Department | Municipal | 226 | $101,832 | +$20,508 | #110 |
| 7 | Kirkland Police Department | Municipal | 108 | $101,218 | +$19,894 | #118 |
| 8 | Tukwila Police Department | Municipal | 76 | $101,064 | +$19,740 | #120 |
| 9 | Bothell Police Department | Municipal | 70 | $101,055 | +$19,731 | #121 |
| 10 | Mount Vernon Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $100,836 | +$19,512 | #125 |
| 11 | Kennewick Police Department | Municipal | 107 | $100,104 | +$18,780 | #128 |
| 12 | Edmonds Police Department | Municipal | 48 | $99,168 | +$17,844 | #140 |
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.
Scan to install
