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Indianapolis Metropolitan 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.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department starts at $74,459 a year — about $35.80 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $7,774 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $6,319 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Indiana run about 7% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $79,781 would somewhere at average prices — $5,322 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 74 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.
What Indianapolis Metropolitan says about itself
We are dedicated to upholding the highest professional standards while serving the community in which we work and live. We are committed to the enforcement of laws to protect life and property, while also respecting individual rights, human dignity, and community values.
What Indianapolis Metropolitan does
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Patrol Officers patrol assigned areas by vehicle and on foot, maintain visible police presence, prevent crime, respond to suspicious activity and calls for service, enforce laws and participate in police-community relations. Officers work with residents and businesses, provide safety information and assist the public while performing general municipal law-enforcement duties
Indianapolis Metropolitan’s rotation, in BlueShifts
The City of Indianapolis' agreement with FOP Lodge #86, effective 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2028, sets the standing work schedule for merit ranks through lieutenant in the Operations Division on the day, middle and late shifts at six consecutive days on duty followed by three consecutive days off, and provides that after a confirmation vote an alternative work schedule built around the 10-hour shift is piloted from 3 January 2026 through 1 January 2027. If the pilot is not mutually agreed, or the officers do not vote to adopt it, the schedule reverts to six on, three off. Overtime runs on a 28-day work period, with FLSA overtime past 171 hours in the period, and shift bidding is by seniority with assignments effective on the first full January timecard.
The rotation template screen — enter the cycle and the start date, and you are done.
DayNight24 hrsOff
Every month, already filled in — no typing, however far ahead you look.
September 2026
The agency publishes the shift length but not a named cycle. These are the 10-hour rotations departments most often build on it: 4/10.
A one-year pilot means a schedule that may change again on a known date, and a 28-day work period means the fortnight is not the unit that matters. BlueShifts holds the cycle and the pay period separately, so the 171-hour line and the days off both land on the same month view, and the court time that sits on top of a 10-hour tour is recorded as you go rather than reconstructed at the end of the period.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Indianapolis and Marion County official Patrol Officer - 38 — open the source document
Opened 6 April 2026; official recruit-class Patrol Officer salary $74,459 annually. The posting is for the regular recruit class, not lateral applicants. Lateral-only pay 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.
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 this level compares
Where Indianapolis Metropolitan 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. Indianapolis Metropolitan starts at $74,459, so $6,319 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer make?
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department starts a new officer on $74,459 a year, about $35.80 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 Indianapolis and Marion County official Patrol Officer - 38.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Indiana?
It ranks #6 of 46 agencies we have verified in Indiana — 40 pay less, 5 pay more in the state — and #701 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $7,774 above, and against other municipal agencies $6,319 above.
What shifts do Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers work?
The City of Indianapolis' agreement with FOP Lodge #86, effective 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2028, sets the standing work schedule for merit ranks through lieutenant in the Operations Division on the day, middle and late shifts at six consecutive days on duty followed by three consecutive days off, and provides that after a confirmation vote an alternative work schedule built around the 10-hour shift is piloted from 3 January 2026 through 1 January 2027. If the pilot is not mutually agreed, or the officers do not vote to adopt it, the schedule reverts to six on, three off. Overtime runs on a 28-day work period, with FLSA overtime past 171 hours in the period, and shift bidding is by seniority with assignments effective on the first full January timecard. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put Indianapolis Metropolitan 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 IN
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Indianapolis | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bloomington Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $81,234 | +$6,775 | #452 |
| 2 | South Bend Police Department | Municipal | 246 | $80,240 | +$5,781 | #488 |
| 3 | MSD Wayne Township School Police Department | Special jurisdiction | — | $77,700 | +$3,241 | #566 |
| 4 | Columbus Police Department | Municipal | 88 | $74,984 | +$525 | #679 |
| 5 | Fishers Police Department | Municipal | 124 | $74,560 | +$101 | #695 |
| 7 | Fort Wayne Police Department | Municipal | 503 | $73,449 | −$1,010 | #740 |
| 8 | Lafayette Police Department | Municipal | 142 | $72,539 | −$1,920 | #787 |
| 9 | West Lafayette Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $72,391 | −$2,068 | #792 |
| 10 | Purdue University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | — | $72,137 | −$2,322 | #804 |
| 11 | Carmel Police Department | Municipal | 147 | $72,000 | −$2,459 | #813 |
| 12 | Indiana State Police | State | 1,171 | $70,000 | −$4,459 | #938 |
| 13 | Indiana Gaming Commission — Enforcement Division | State | — | $70,000 | −$4,459 | #939 |
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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