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Iowa City 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.
Iowa City Police Department starts at $67,811 a year — about $32.60 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $579 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $3,453 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Iowa City, IA run about 8% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $74,103 would somewhere at average prices — $6,292 more than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 84 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. Based on price levels for this metropolitan 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 isIowa City Police Department reported 81 sworn officers and 27 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.1 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 77,166.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 Iowa City says about itself
To work in partnership with the community, enhance trust, protect with courage and compassion, and empower victims of crime through excellence in service.
What Iowa City does
Iowa City Police Department is authorized for 85 sworn officers and provides patrol, investigations, traffic and specialized law-enforcement services.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. City of Iowa City Police Officer Recruitment — open the source document
Current City recruiting page states Entry level Officer starting wage is $67,811.12 annually effective July 5, 2026. Certified Officer starting wage is separately commensurate with experience. Class: Police Officer. Trainee class: YES, entry-level hires may attend the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy after appointment; certified officers are separately paid based on experience. City states ICPD has authority for 85 sworn officers and recruits entry-level Police Officers.
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 Iowa City 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. Iowa City starts at $67,811, so $3,476 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Iowa City Police Department officer make?
Iowa City Police Department starts a new officer on $67,811 a year, about $32.60 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 Iowa City Police Officer Recruitment.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Iowa?
It ranks #16 of 28 agencies we have verified in Iowa — 12 pay less, 15 pay more in the state — and #870 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $579 below, and against other municipal agencies $3,453 below.
Compare with another department
Put Iowa City 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 IA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Iowa | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa County Sheriff's Office | County | 14 | $85,550 | +$17,739 | #281 |
| 2 | Des Moines Police Department | Municipal | 367 | $84,635 | +$16,824 | #297 |
| 3 | Norwalk Police Department | Municipal | 22 | $76,710 | +$8,899 | #486 |
| 4 | Ankeny Police Department | Municipal | 78 | $76,648 | +$8,837 | #491 |
| 5 | Urbandale Police Department | Municipal | 58 | $76,028 | +$8,217 | #516 |
| 6 | Woodbury County Sheriff's Office | County | 44 | $73,944 | +$6,133 | #597 |
| 7 | Linn County Sheriff's Office | County | 120 | $73,216 | +$5,405 | #616 |
| 8 | Chickasaw County Sheriff's Office | County | 10 | $71,822 | +$4,011 | #678 |
| 9 | Mason City Police Department | Municipal | 40 | $71,448 | +$3,637 | #698 |
| 10 | Johnson County Sheriff's Office | County | 81 | $70,871 | +$3,060 | #732 |
| 11 | Iowa Department of Natural Resources — Conservation Law Enforcement | State | — | $70,574 | +$2,763 | #742 |
| 12 | Davenport Police Department | Municipal | 143 | $70,322 | +$2,511 | #752 |
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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