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Ho-Ho-Kus 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.
Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department starts at $58,000 a year — about $27.88 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $10,390 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $13,264 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in New Jersey run about 9% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $53,306 somewhere at average prices — $4,694 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 134 against a national average of 100, where goods are 107. 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 isHo-Ho-Kus Police Department reported 16 sworn officers and 4 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 3.7 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 4,362.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 Ho-Ho-Kus
Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department serves the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus in Bergen County, New Jersey, from Sycamore Avenue, and is accredited by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police. Its Patrol Division runs four squads - A, B, C and D - each with a sergeant, a senior officer and a junior officer, and officers have served on the Bergen County Prosecutor's Fatal Accident Investigation Unit and the county Rapid Deployment Force.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 18 August 2026. Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department — Employment page, Salary section, citing the Borough's agreement with NJ PBA Local 353 — open the source document
The Department's own Employment page prints the figure under a Salary heading: salary earned after successful academy completion is $58,000.00 for the remainder of the first year of service, as specified in the agreement between the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus and New Jersey PBA Local No. 353. The entry class is settled by the same page, which states that ALTERNATE ROUTE ACADEMY RECRUIT appointees must complete the training programme mandated by the Police Training Commission - the Alternate Route being the New Jersey path by which a candidate with no prior service funds the academy themselves. Minimum qualifications come from Borough Ordinance Chapter 46, Article III, Section 46-8: PTC certification, United States citizenship, a year's New Jersey residency, and a high school diploma or GED.
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 Ho-Ho-Kus 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. Ho-Ho-Kus starts at $58,000, so $13,287 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department officer make?
Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department starts a new officer on $58,000 a year, about $27.88 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 Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department — Employment page, Salary section, citing the Borough's agreement with NJ PBA Local 353.
Is that good pay for a police officer in New Jersey?
It ranks #6 of 15 agencies we have verified in New Jersey — 9 pay less, 5 pay more in the state — and #1,322 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $10,390 below, and against other municipal agencies $13,264 below.
Compare with another department
Put Ho-Ho-Kus 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 NJ
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Ho-Ho-Kus | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection — Fish & Wildlife Conservation Police | State | — | $74,153 | +$16,153 | #588 |
| 2 | New Jersey State Police | State | 3,351 | $64,956 | +$6,956 | #1,028 |
| 3 | Galloway Township Police Department | Municipal | 68 | $64,236 | +$6,236 | #1,054 |
| 4 | New Jersey State Parole Board | State | — | $63,268 | +$5,268 | #1,099 |
| 5 | North Plainfield Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $59,036 | +$1,036 | #1,282 |
| 7 | Toms River Township Police Department | Municipal | 145 | $56,792 | −$1,208 | #1,374 |
| 8 | South Brunswick Police Department | Municipal | — | $55,165 | −$2,835 | #1,421 |
| 9 | New Jersey Department of Corrections — Correctional Police | State | — | $55,081 | −$2,919 | #1,426 |
| 10 | Atlantic City Police Department | Municipal | 295 | $54,500 | −$3,500 | #1,453 |
| 11 | Atlantic Highlands Police Department | Municipal | 15 | $52,975 | −$5,025 | #1,500 |
| 12 | New Jersey State Park Police | State | 81 | $50,604 | −$7,396 | #1,546 |
| 13 | New Jersey State Human Services Police | State | — | $50,604 | −$7,396 | #1,547 |
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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