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Fort Lauderdale 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.
Fort Lauderdale Police Department starts at $81,723 a year — about $39.29 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $13,333 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $10,459 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL run about 14% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $71,590 somewhere at average prices — $10,134 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 156 against a national average of 100, where goods are 104. 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 isFort Lauderdale Police Department reported 565 sworn officers and 169 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 3.0 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 191,199.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 Fort Lauderdale says about itself
The mission of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department is to provide a safe and orderly environment in our City through professionalism and dedication while building and maintaining an active partnership with the community we serve. The men and women of the Police Department understand that our greatest resource and asset is the support and assistance that is given by our community.
What Fort Lauderdale does
The City says Fort Lauderdale Police Officers maintain peace and safety, protect life and property and promote community engagement and trust, with duties including patrol, emergency response, crime investigation, conflict resolution, medical assistance and enforcement of Florida law and City ordinances.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. City of Fort Lauderdale official Police Officer (Certified) posting — open the source document
Posting dated 25 May 2026, closed to applications but live at checking; salary range $81,723.20-$120,036.80. Higher minimums apply only to officers with one or more years of prior service, so the range floor is the no-prior-experience certified entry base.
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 Fort Lauderdale 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. Fort Lauderdale starts at $81,723, so $10,436 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Fort Lauderdale Police Department officer make?
Fort Lauderdale Police Department starts a new officer on $81,723 a year, about $39.29 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 Fort Lauderdale official Police Officer (Certified) posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Florida?
It ranks #2 of 141 agencies we have verified in Florida — 139 pay less, 1 pay more in the state — and #354 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $13,333 above, and against other municipal agencies $10,459 above.
Compare with another department
Put Fort Lauderdale 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 FL
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Fort | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boca Raton Police Services Department | Municipal | 195 | $86,674 | +$4,950 | #270 |
| 3 | Plantation Police Department | Municipal | 164 | $81,000 | −$723 | #379 |
| 4 | Pinecrest Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $80,912 | −$812 | #383 |
| 5 | Sunny Isles Beach Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $80,000 | −$1,723 | #411 |
| 6 | Aventura Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $78,556 | −$3,167 | #441 |
| 7 | Coral Springs Police Department | Municipal | 222 | $77,516 | −$4,207 | #470 |
| 8 | Boynton Beach Police Department | Municipal | 173 | $76,650 | −$5,073 | #490 |
| 9 | North Palm Beach Police Department | Municipal | 37 | $76,378 | −$5,346 | #497 |
| 10 | Naples Police Department | Municipal | 74 | $76,320 | −$5,403 | #501 |
| 11 | West Palm Beach Police Department | Municipal | 295 | $75,921 | −$5,802 | #524 |
| 12 | Bay Harbor Islands Police Department | Municipal | 24 | $75,836 | −$5,887 | #528 |
| 13 | Sarasota County Sheriff's Office | County | 490 | $75,457 | −$6,266 | #537 |
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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