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Hamden 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.
Hamden Police Department starts at $80,104 a year — about $38.51 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $13,419 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $11,964 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Connecticut run about 4% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $77,313 somewhere at average prices — $2,791 less than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 146 against a national average of 100, where goods are 97. 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 isHamden Police Department reported 93 sworn officers and 27 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.5 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 61,706.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 Hamden says about itself
The Hamden Police Department is composed of individuals who work cohesively to preserve the peace, deter and prevent crime, apprehend offenders, pursue justice for victims, promote traffic safety, and educate the public.
What Hamden does
The Hamden Police Department serves the Town of Hamden in New Haven County, Connecticut.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 20 September 2026. Town of Hamden and UPSEU/COPS Local 062 collective bargaining agreement 2024-2028, Exhibit A Salary Schedule, Grade B — open the source document
Fiscal year 2026-27 of the agreement, which runs on a 1 July year. Article 7.1(A): “A new employee hired from the non-certified police officer eligibility list shall serve as a probationary police officer at the Grade B salary level for a period that concludes twelve (12) months after completion of FTO training”, after which the officer becomes Grade A-I at $96,768.02.
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.
Entry pay through 2027
Every point is the entry-class annual base printed in the agency’s own pay document. Base pay only — no shift differential, incentives or allowances.
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How this level compares
Where Hamden 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. Hamden starts at $80,104, so $11,964 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Hamden Police Department officer make?
Hamden Police Department starts a new officer on $80,104 a year, about $38.51 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 Town of Hamden and UPSEU/COPS Local 062 collective bargaining agreement 2024-2028, Exhibit A Salary Schedule, Grade B.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Connecticut?
It ranks #4 of 21 agencies we have verified in Connecticut — 17 pay less, 3 pay more in the state — and #492 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $13,419 above, and against other municipal agencies $11,964 above.
Compare with another department
Put Hamden 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 CT
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Hamden | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Windsor Police Department | Municipal | 41 | $87,483 | +$7,380 | #312 |
| 2 | Norwalk Police Department | Municipal | 184 | $82,116 | +$2,012 | #425 |
| 3 | Milford Police Department | Municipal | 105 | $81,237 | +$1,134 | #451 |
| 5 | Greenwich Police Department | Municipal | 142 | $78,704 | −$1,400 | #528 |
| 6 | Connecticut State Police | State | 955 | $76,625 | −$3,479 | #600 |
| 7 | Suffield Police Department | Municipal | 21 | $75,420 | −$4,684 | #653 |
| 8 | Fairfield Police Department | Municipal | 115 | $75,241 | −$4,863 | #664 |
| 9 | Shelton Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $74,962 | −$5,142 | #680 |
| 10 | Stamford Police Department | Municipal | 278 | $72,881 | −$7,223 | #766 |
| 11 | Manchester Police Department | Municipal | 117 | $72,633 | −$7,471 | #783 |
| 12 | Norwich Police Department | Municipal | 76 | $71,944 | −$8,159 | #817 |
| 13 | Wallingford Police Department | Municipal | 73 | $71,448 | −$8,656 | #846 |
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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