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Iowa State Patrol 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 State Patrol starts at $60,632 a year — about $29.15 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $7,758 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $4,366 below the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Iowa run about 12% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $69,087 would somewhere at average prices — $8,455 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 65 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. 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 Iowa State Patrol says about itself
Our mission is to preserve lives, rights, and property through courtesy, service, and protection.
What Iowa State Patrol does
The Iowa State Patrol was created in 1935 and works from 16 districts, one of which - District 16, formed from the old Iowa Capitol Police - covers the Capitol Complex and the Governor's residence at Terrace Hill. Alongside traffic enforcement it operates aircraft used for both enforcement and search and rescue, and responds to civil disorders, prison disturbances and major public events.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 15 August 2026. Iowa Department of Public Safety — DPS Starting Salary Schedule, effective fiscal year 2027 — open the source document
The Iowa Department of Public Safety publishes its own starting salary schedule, effective fiscal year 2027 from 19 June 2026: Trooper 1 runs $60,632.00 to $87,734.40, Trooper 2 $71,406.40 to $107,390.40, Trooper 3 $72,904.00 to $109,532.80. The department states the schedule excludes per diem, shift differential and benefits.
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 Iowa State Patrol 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 State Patrol starts at $60,632, so $4,366 below the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Iowa State Patrol officer make?
Iowa State Patrol starts a new officer on $60,632 a year, about $29.15 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 Iowa Department of Public Safety — DPS Starting Salary Schedule, effective fiscal year 2027.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Iowa?
It ranks #27 of 28 agencies we have verified in Iowa — 1 pay less, 26 pay more in the state — and #1,207 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $7,758 below, and against other state agencies $4,366 below.
Compare with another department
Put Iowa State Patrol 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 | +$24,918 | #281 |
| 2 | Des Moines Police Department | Municipal | 367 | $84,635 | +$24,003 | #297 |
| 3 | Norwalk Police Department | Municipal | 22 | $76,710 | +$16,078 | #486 |
| 4 | Ankeny Police Department | Municipal | 78 | $76,648 | +$16,016 | #491 |
| 5 | Urbandale Police Department | Municipal | 58 | $76,028 | +$15,396 | #516 |
| 6 | Woodbury County Sheriff's Office | County | 44 | $73,944 | +$13,312 | #597 |
| 7 | Linn County Sheriff's Office | County | 120 | $73,216 | +$12,584 | #616 |
| 8 | Chickasaw County Sheriff's Office | County | 10 | $71,822 | +$11,190 | #678 |
| 9 | Mason City Police Department | Municipal | 40 | $71,448 | +$10,816 | #698 |
| 10 | Johnson County Sheriff's Office | County | 81 | $70,871 | +$10,239 | #732 |
| 11 | Iowa Department of Natural Resources — Conservation Law Enforcement | State | — | $70,574 | +$9,942 | #742 |
| 12 | Davenport Police Department | Municipal | 143 | $70,322 | +$9,690 | #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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