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Gainesville 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.
Gainesville Police Department starts at $57,898 a year — about $27.84 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $10,492 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $13,366 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Gainesville, GA run about 3% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $59,833 would somewhere at average prices — $1,935 more than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 90 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. 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 isGainesville Police Department reported 93 sworn officers and 17 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.9 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 49,204.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 Gainesville says about itself
The mission of the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) is to provide the highest quality of police services by being a PILLAR of our community.
What Gainesville does
Gainesville says certified Police Officers maintain law and order, prevent crime, protect life and property, and deliver services safely, professionally and efficiently. Officers serve in Uniform Patrol or support assignments and must comply with departmental, state and federal requirements.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. City of Gainesville Police Officer (Non-Certified) posting — open the source document
Their source is effective 13 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.
How this level compares
Where Gainesville 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. Gainesville starts at $57,898, so $13,389 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Gainesville Police Department officer make?
Gainesville Police Department starts a new officer on $57,898 a year, about $27.84 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 Gainesville Police Officer (Non-Certified) posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Georgia?
It ranks #14 of 25 agencies we have verified in Georgia — 11 pay less, 13 pay more in the state — and #1,329 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $10,492 below, and against other municipal agencies $13,366 below.
Compare with another department
Put Gainesville 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 GA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Gainesville | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sandy Springs Police Department | Municipal | 149 | $71,686 | +$13,789 | #687 |
| 2 | Georgia Bureau of Investigation | State | 338 | $64,977 | +$7,079 | #1,027 |
| 3 | Georgia State Patrol | State | — | $63,684 | +$5,786 | #1,072 |
| 4 | South Fulton Police Department | Municipal | 213 | $63,440 | +$5,542 | #1,086 |
| 5 | Roswell Police Department | Municipal | 154 | $62,462 | +$4,565 | #1,135 |
| 6 | Savannah Police Department | Municipal | 425 | $61,989 | +$4,091 | #1,156 |
| 7 | Alpharetta Police Department | Municipal | 105 | $61,100 | +$3,202 | #1,190 |
| 8 | Atlanta Police Department | Municipal | 1,817 | $60,987 | +$3,089 | #1,196 |
| 9 | Snellville Police Department | Municipal | 50 | $60,905 | +$3,007 | #1,199 |
| 10 | Fulton County Sheriff's Office | County | 349 | $60,000 | +$2,102 | #1,240 |
| 11 | Fulton County Police Department | Municipal | 349 | $60,000 | +$2,102 | #1,249 |
| 12 | Athens-Clarke County Police Department | Municipal | 235 | $59,287 | +$1,389 | #1,275 |
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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