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Gulfport 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.
Gulfport Police Department starts at $51,241 a year — about $24.64 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $15,443 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $16,899 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Mississippi run about 13% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $58,930 would somewhere at average prices — $7,689 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 56 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. 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 isGulfport Police Department reported 134 sworn officers and 66 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.8 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 75,068.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 Gulfport says about itself
The Gulfport Police Department is dedicated to maintaining positive community partnerships through effective communication, education, and transparency. With the trust of our citizens, we are committed to preserving the quality of life while enforcing the laws fairly and equally with compassion and respect.
What Gulfport does
The Gulfport Police Department describes Patrol Officer work as general-duty law enforcement protecting life and property, preventing crime, conducting investigations, apprehending offenders and maintaining public order. Officers patrol on foot or by police vehicle, respond to emergency and service calls including fires, traffic accidents and robberies, conduct preliminary investigations, make arrests and testify in court, transport prisoners and assist the public. The post is designated essential personnel for emergency response, required to report directly after an emergency
Where the figure comes from
Checked 6 September 2026. City of Gulfport official employment portal — Patrol Officer Recruit posting, Police Department — open the source document
City of Gulfport's own applicant portal, linked from the City's Apply For A Job page, verified 6 September 2026; Patrol Officer salary stated as $51,241.47 - $62,831.80. The bottom of the range is the entry rate: the posting requires only a high-school diploma or equivalent and age 21, no prior law-enforcement service and no existing certification, and sets out advancement from Patrolman Recruit to Patrolman 2nd Class after six months. The City's FY2026 budget, adopted September 2025, funded a 3% raise for all sworn officers
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 Gulfport 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. Gulfport starts at $51,241, so $16,899 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Gulfport Police Department officer make?
Gulfport Police Department starts a new officer on $51,241 a year, about $24.64 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 Gulfport official employment portal — Patrol Officer Recruit posting, Police Department.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Mississippi?
It ranks #7 of 12 agencies we have verified in Mississippi — 5 pay less, 6 pay more in the state — and #2,024 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $15,443 below, and against other municipal agencies $16,899 below.
Compare with another department
Put Gulfport 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 MS
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Gulfport | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DeSoto County Sheriff's Office | County | 185 | $65,564 | +$14,322 | #1,216 |
| 2 | Southaven Police Department | Municipal | 150 | $61,982 | +$10,740 | #1,451 |
| 3 | Hattiesburg Police Department | Municipal | 92 | $55,000 | +$3,759 | #1,853 |
| 4 | Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol | State | 397 | $54,000 | +$2,759 | #1,910 |
| 5 | Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics | State | — | $54,000 | +$2,759 | #1,911 |
| 6 | Oxford Police Department | Municipal | 106 | $52,531 | +$1,290 | #1,967 |
| 8 | Mississippi Department of Revenue - Alcoholic Beverage Control Bureau of Enforcement | State | — | $50,000 | −$1,241 | #2,077 |
| 9 | Biloxi Police Department | Municipal | 122 | $48,300 | −$2,941 | #2,136 |
| 10 | Mississippi Capitol Police | State | — | $46,700 | −$4,541 | #2,175 |
| 11 | Ocean Springs Police Department | Municipal | 39 | $45,474 | −$5,767 | #2,196 |
| 12 | Mississippi Department of Marine Resources - Marine Patrol | State | — | $45,000 | −$6,241 | #2,208 |
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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