Home › Police pay › Illinois › Illinois State Police
Illinois State Police 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.
Illinois State Police starts at $90,828 a year — about $43.67 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $22,438 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $25,830 above the median for state agencies.
How big the department isIllinois State Police reported 1,821 sworn officers 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 Illinois State says about itself
Troopers bear the mission to patrol Illinois roadways with the intent to interdict crime and ensure traffic safety while assisting citizens during times of need.
What Illinois State does
The Illinois State Police is organised into the Office of the Director and the divisions of Patrol, Criminal Investigations, Forensic Services, Internal Investigations, Justice Services, Academy and Training, and Statewide 911. Its troopers patrol Illinois roadways to interdict crime and ensure traffic safety, and the agency supports municipal, county and federal agencies across the state.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 15 August 2026. Illinois State Police Merit Board official FAQ — first year Trooper base salary on completion of the Academy — open the source document
As of 1 July 2026, a first year Trooper's base salary is $90,828 on successful completion of the Academy ($7,569 per month). Traditional cadets earn $4,440 a month while at the Academy; lateral cadets receive Trooper 1 pay of $7,569 a month during training. Shift differential, hazardous duty pay and uniform allowance are additional.
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.
How this level compares
Where Illinois State 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. Illinois State starts at $90,828, so $25,830 above the state middle.
BlueShifts. Plan Your Year. Own Your Time.
The shift calendar built for your rotation, off-duty work, and life on and off the clock.
Save your shift schedule once and BlueShifts fills the rest of the year in.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Illinois State Police officer make?
Illinois State Police starts a new officer on $90,828 a year, about $43.67 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 Illinois State Police Merit Board official FAQ — first year Trooper base salary on completion of the Academy.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Illinois?
It ranks #6 of 35 agencies we have verified in Illinois — 29 pay less, 5 pay more in the state — and #199 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $22,438 above, and against other state agencies $25,830 above.
Compare with another department
Put Illinois State Police 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 IL
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Illinois | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vernon Hills Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $94,460 | +$3,632 | #151 |
| 2 | Wilmette Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $93,156 | +$2,328 | #165 |
| 3 | Aurora Police Department | Municipal | 328 | $92,248 | +$1,420 | #176 |
| 4 | Des Plaines Police Department | Municipal | 97 | $91,440 | +$612 | #186 |
| 5 | Highland Park Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $91,158 | +$330 | #191 |
| 7 | River Forest Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $90,106 | −$722 | #213 |
| 8 | Elgin Police Department | Municipal | 203 | $88,274 | −$2,554 | #245 |
| 9 | Lake County Sheriff's Office | County | 113 | $87,297 | −$3,531 | #259 |
| 10 | Woodridge Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $84,781 | −$6,047 | #294 |
| 11 | DeKalb Police Department | Municipal | 72 | $83,449 | −$7,379 | #326 |
| 12 | Rolling Meadows Police Department | Municipal | 49 | $81,439 | −$9,389 | #362 |
| 13 | Bloomington Police Department | Municipal | — | $81,304 | −$9,524 | #368 |
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.
Scan to install
