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Howard County 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.
Howard County Police Department starts at $67,517 a year — about $32.46 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $873 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $3,747 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Maryland run about 5% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $64,327 somewhere at average prices — $3,190 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 121 against a national average of 100, where goods are 103. 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 isHoward County Police Department reported 65 sworn officers and 21 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025.No rate is shown: this agency does not police a single population the FBI publishes a figure for. 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 Howard County says about itself
It is the mission of the Howard County Police Department to provide a secure environment for the citizens of Howard County by protecting life and property, reducing the opportunity for crime and disorder, enforcing the law, assisting victims and providing other police-related services as required by the community in a manner consistent with the values of a free society.
What Howard County does
The Howard County Police Department's mission is to provide safety and security by protecting life and property, reducing crime and disorder, enforcing criminal and traffic laws, assisting victims, and promoting positive community engagement and effective partnerships.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 14 August 2026. Howard County Police Department / Howard County Government — Police Officer — Entry Level — open the source document
2025 Annual Report, published 2026 | Class: Police Officer — Entry Level | Post-academy: yes — official annual report expressly identifies this as the starting salary for officers and the careers page labels it entry-level | The durable official 2025 HCPD Annual Report states the starting salary for officers is $67,517. The current official careers page separately identifies $67,517 as the entry-level starting salary effective January 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 Howard County 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. Howard County starts at $67,517, so $3,770 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Howard County Police Department officer make?
Howard County Police Department starts a new officer on $67,517 a year, about $32.46 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 Howard County Police Department / Howard County Government — Police Officer — Entry Level.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Maryland?
It ranks #14 of 26 agencies we have verified in Maryland — 12 pay less, 13 pay more in the state — and #891 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $873 below, and against other municipal agencies $3,747 below.
Compare with another department
Put Howard County 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 MD
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Howard | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rockville City Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,256 | +$7,739 | #547 |
| 2 | Maryland Transit Administration Police Force | State | — | $72,829 | +$5,312 | #635 |
| 3 | Anne Arundel County Police Department | Municipal | 82 | $72,802 | +$5,285 | #636 |
| 4 | Frederick Police Department | Municipal | 151 | $71,351 | +$3,834 | #703 |
| 5 | Maryland Transportation Authority Police | State | 392 | $71,258 | +$3,741 | #710 |
| 6 | St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office | County | 167 | $71,011 | +$3,494 | #720 |
| 7 | Prince George's County Police Department | County | 1,343 | $70,257 | +$2,740 | #754 |
| 8 | Worcester County Sheriff's Office | County | 91 | $70,221 | +$2,704 | #757 |
| 9 | Wicomico County Sheriff's Office | County | 97 | $70,000 | +$2,483 | #768 |
| 10 | Gaithersburg Police Department | Municipal | 66 | $70,000 | +$2,483 | #771 |
| 11 | Maryland State Police | State | 1,434 | $69,360 | +$1,843 | #795 |
| 12 | Maryland Natural Resources Police | State | 263 | $68,673 | +$1,156 | #828 |
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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