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Grand Forks 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.
Grand Forks Police Department starts at $69,326 a year — about $33.33 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $936 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $1,938 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Grand Forks, ND-MN run about 13% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $79,995 would somewhere at average prices — $10,669 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 60 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 isGrand Forks Police Department reported 91 sworn officers and 18 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.5 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 60,024.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 Grand Forks
Grand Forks recruits community-minded Police Officers to serve and protect residents while upholding integrity, professionalism and respect.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. employer-controlled City of Grand Forks NEOGOV Police Officer posting — open the source document
Their source is effective 16 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 Grand Forks 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. Grand Forks starts at $69,326, so $1,961 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Grand Forks Police Department officer make?
Grand Forks Police Department starts a new officer on $69,326 a year, about $33.33 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 City of Grand Forks NEOGOV Police Officer posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in North Dakota?
It ranks #2 of 9 agencies we have verified in North Dakota — 7 pay less, 1 pay more in the state — and #797 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $936 above, and against other municipal agencies $1,938 below.
Compare with another department
Put Grand Forks 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 ND
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Grand | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota Highway Patrol | State | 165 | $73,332 | +$4,006 | #614 |
| 3 | Fargo Police Department | Municipal | 185 | $68,494 | −$832 | #836 |
| 4 | North Dakota Game and Fish Department — Enforcement Division | State | — | $65,808 | −$3,518 | #977 |
| 5 | Williston Police Department | Municipal | 64 | $65,520 | −$3,806 | #990 |
| 6 | West Fargo Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $64,376 | −$4,950 | #1,046 |
| 7 | Bismarck Police Department | Municipal | 128 | $63,123 | −$6,204 | #1,104 |
| 8 | Richland County Sheriff's Office | County | 18 | $62,213 | −$7,114 | #1,148 |
| 9 | Dickinson Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $60,345 | −$8,981 | #1,220 |
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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