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Henderson 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.
Henderson Police Department starts at $51,778 a year — about $24.89 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $14,906 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $16,362 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Kentucky run about 10% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $57,430 would somewhere at average prices — $5,652 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 64 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 isHenderson Police Department reported 58 sworn officers and 8 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.1 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 27,655.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 Henderson says about itself
The Henderson Police Department, in partnership with our community, is committed to improving the quality of life in our city by protecting the lives and property of the people we serve. The Henderson Police Department is committed to preventing crime and maintaining order, while working in partnership with the community to address issues that affect them.
What Henderson does
The Henderson Police Department's official Police Officer classification states that officers protect life and property, respond to the needs of the public, deter criminal activity, enforce City statutes and ordinances and Kentucky laws and regulations, and perform investigations, special details and assignments within the department
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Henderson, Kentucky official 2026 — open the source document
Opened 16 March 2026; official starting salary $24.89/hour = $51,778.48 annually. This is a standard Police Officer testing recruitment rather than a lateral-only process. Optional incentives and other add-ons are excluded
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 Henderson 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. Henderson starts at $51,778, so $16,362 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Henderson Police Department officer make?
Henderson Police Department starts a new officer on $51,778 a year, about $24.89 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 Henderson, Kentucky official 2026.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Kentucky?
It ranks #12 of 15 agencies we have verified in Kentucky — 3 pay less, 11 pay more in the state — and #2,001 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $14,906 below, and against other municipal agencies $16,362 below.
Compare with another department
Put Henderson 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 KY
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Henderson | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky State Police | State | 1,078 | $71,000 | +$19,222 | #877 |
| 2 | Louisville Metro Police Department | Municipal | 1,013 | $66,760 | +$14,981 | #1,138 |
| 3 | Paducah Police Department | Municipal | 68 | $65,146 | +$13,367 | #1,246 |
| 4 | Lexington Police Department | Municipal | 541 | $64,424 | +$12,646 | #1,293 |
| 5 | Richmond Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $63,988 | +$12,210 | #1,320 |
| 6 | Bowling Green Police Department | Municipal | 140 | $63,839 | +$12,061 | #1,329 |
| 7 | University of Kentucky Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 76 | $63,200 | +$11,422 | #1,371 |
| 8 | Owensboro Police Department | Municipal | 101 | $62,254 | +$10,476 | #1,432 |
| 9 | Kenton County Police Department | Municipal | 41 | $57,699 | +$5,921 | #1,715 |
| 10 | Elizabethtown Police Department | Municipal | 77 | $57,200 | +$5,422 | #1,745 |
| 11 | Georgetown Police Department | Municipal | 75 | $55,345 | +$3,567 | #1,830 |
| 13 | Hopkinsville Police Department | Municipal | 72 | $51,239 | −$539 | #2,025 |
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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