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Harrisonburg 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.
Harrisonburg Police Department starts at $56,992 a year — about $27.40 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $9,693 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $11,148 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Virginia run about 1% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $56,370 somewhere at average prices — $622 less than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 92, where goods are 100. 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 isHarrisonburg Police Department reported 108 sworn officers and 23 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.1 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 51,165.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 Harrisonburg
The Harrisonburg Police Department serves the independent city of Harrisonburg in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, home to James Madison University, from 101 North Main Street. It is organised into an Administrative Division, a Criminal Investigations Division, a Patrol Operations Division and a Special Operations Division, and states its values as Honor, Accountability, Dedication, Integrity and Professionalism. The FBI's law enforcement employment tables put it at 108 sworn officers serving about 51,000 people. New hires are paid as Police Recruits through training and earn the rank of Police Officer, at a higher rate, when all training is completed; certified officers transferring in may receive additional compensation for prior years of service and certifications.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 20 September 2026. City of Harrisonburg, HPD Earnings and Benefits: "$56,992 per year when the rank of Police Officer is earned after all training is completed." — open the source document
$56,992 is the City's own annual figure and no arithmetic has been applied to it. The City prices the rank twice on the same page - $49,025 a year as a Police Recruit, and $56,992 a year when the rank of Police Officer is earned after all training is completed - and the post-training Police Officer rate is the one taken; the recruit rate is barred and is NOT used. THE NON-LATERAL TEST IS SETTLED ON THE SAME PAGE: the City says certified officers who transfer their employment to the Harrisonburg Police Department may receive additional compensation for prior years of service and certifications, so prior sworn service is priced ABOVE this figure, not into it. Excluded: the Career Development Plan, which the City describes as merit-based rewards that increase salary over time, and any transfer credit. THE FIGURE CARRIES NO EFFECTIVE DATE. NEXT DOCUMENT: the City of Harrisonburg pay plan or the adopted budget, either of which would date the two steps. NAME TRAP: Harrisonburg is an independent city in Virginia and is NOT part of Rockingham County, which has its own sheriff's office; James Madison University also runs its own police department in the same city.
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 Harrisonburg 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. Harrisonburg starts at $56,992, so $11,148 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Harrisonburg Police Department officer make?
Harrisonburg Police Department starts a new officer on $56,992 a year, about $27.40 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 Harrisonburg, HPD Earnings and Benefits: "$56,992 per year when the rank of Police Officer is earned after all training is completed.".
Is that good pay for a police officer in Virginia?
It ranks #29 of 42 agencies we have verified in Virginia — 13 pay less, 28 pay more in the state — and #1,754 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $9,693 below, and against other municipal agencies $11,148 below.
Compare with another department
Put Harrisonburg 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 VA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Harrisonburg | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arlington County Police Department | County | 299 | $90,012 | +$33,020 | #269 |
| 2 | Falls Church Police Department | Municipal | 32 | $76,400 | +$19,408 | #605 |
| 3 | Alexandria Police Department | Municipal | 264 | $75,000 | +$18,008 | #677 |
| 4 | Fairfax County Police Department | County | 1,390 | $74,035 | +$17,043 | #716 |
| 5 | Prince William County Police Department | County | 656 | $74,000 | +$17,008 | #718 |
| 6 | Loudoun County Sheriff's Office | County | 648 | $70,955 | +$13,963 | #884 |
| 7 | Leesburg Police Department | Municipal | 74 | $68,500 | +$11,508 | #1,017 |
| 8 | Manassas Police Department | Municipal | 99 | $68,453 | +$11,461 | #1,024 |
| 9 | Prince William County Sheriff's Office | County | — | $66,596 | +$9,604 | #1,151 |
| 10 | Henrico County Police Division | County | 628 | $65,959 | +$8,967 | #1,188 |
| 11 | Fairfax County Sheriff's Office | County | 433 | $64,997 | +$8,005 | #1,263 |
| 12 | Fredericksburg Police Department | Municipal | 71 | $64,000 | +$7,008 | #1,319 |
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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