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Hammond 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.
Hammond Police Department starts at $52,025 a year — about $25.01 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $16,365 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $19,239 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Indiana run about 7% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $55,744 would somewhere at average prices — $3,719 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 74 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 isHammond Police Department reported 189 sworn officers and 37 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.5 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 75,605.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 Hammond says about itself
Our vision at the Hammond Police Department is to improve lives in our community through quality support and resources.
What Hammond does
Hammond Police Department serves a Lake County city in Indiana's north-west corner, on the Illinois line south of Chicago, from Douglas Street. It states its commitment as being the exemplary law enforcement agency in Indiana, providing what it calls expert co-active services in partnership with the community. Its divisions include patrol, criminal investigations — covering auto detail, sex crimes, burglary, violent crimes, arson and homicide — a Special Deployment Division holding the gang and narcotics unit, internal affairs, a K-9 programme, bike patrol and a SWAT team. Officers are assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration's HIDTA task force in Lake County, and the department promotes through the ranks of first and second class patrolman, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant and captain. Recruits train at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 15 August 2026. City of Hammond — Police Department recruiting announcement — open the source document
Their source is effective 10 August 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.
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How this level compares
Where Hammond 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. Hammond starts at $52,025, so $19,262 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Hammond Police Department officer make?
Hammond Police Department starts a new officer on $52,025 a year, about $25.01 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 Hammond — Police Department recruiting announcement.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Indiana?
It ranks #37 of 39 agencies we have verified in Indiana — 2 pay less, 36 pay more in the state — and #1,512 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $16,365 below, and against other municipal agencies $19,239 below.
Compare with another department
Put Hammond 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 IN
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Hammond | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bloomington Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $81,234 | +$29,209 | #372 |
| 2 | MSD Wayne Township School Police Department | Special jurisdiction | — | $77,700 | +$25,675 | #464 |
| 3 | Columbus Police Department | Municipal | 88 | $74,984 | +$22,959 | #562 |
| 4 | Fishers Police Department | Municipal | 124 | $74,560 | +$22,535 | #575 |
| 5 | Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department | Municipal | — | $74,459 | +$22,434 | #581 |
| 6 | Lafayette Police Department | Municipal | 142 | $72,539 | +$20,514 | #646 |
| 7 | West Lafayette Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $72,391 | +$20,366 | #649 |
| 8 | Purdue University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | — | $72,137 | +$20,112 | #659 |
| 9 | Carmel Police Department | Municipal | 147 | $72,000 | +$19,975 | #667 |
| 10 | Indiana State Police | State | 1,171 | $70,000 | +$17,975 | #769 |
| 11 | Indiana Gaming Commission — Enforcement Division | State | — | $70,000 | +$17,975 | #770 |
| 12 | Hamilton County Sheriff's Office | County | 62 | $70,000 | +$17,975 | #775 |
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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