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Kenton 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.
Kenton County Police Department starts at $57,699 a year — about $27.74 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $8,986 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $10,441 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Kentucky run about 10% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $63,997 would somewhere at average prices — $6,298 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 64 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.
How big the department isKenton County Police Department reported 41 sworn officers and 6 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 Kenton County says about itself
The Kenton County Police Department is a 40+ officer agency located in Northern Kentucky.
What Kenton County does
The Kenton County Police Department is the county police force for Kenton County in Northern Kentucky, across the river from Cincinnati, working from 11777 Madison Pike in Independence. The County describes it as an agency of more than 40 officers.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 25 September 2026. Kenton County Fiscal Court, Police Department "Recruitment" page, New Hire (Entry Level): "Starting Salary: $26.11 /Hour increased to $27.74 /Hour upon completion of training". — open the source document
Two rates are printed for a new hire: $26.11 an hour while in training, and $27.74 once training is complete. The training rate is paid before the academy is finished, so it is not the figure; $27.74 is the first rate a sworn, certified officer is paid, converted at 2,080 hours ($27.74 x 2,080 = $57,699.20). The lateral base on the same page starts at $57,708.30, which is the same rate to the cent per hour. The page is undated, and the entry-level section is marked "Currently Not Hiring". Excluded: the "$4,429 KLEFPF fund annual supplement", holiday pay, the Certified First Responder incentive, the night-shift differential and overtime.
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 Kenton 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 | $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. Kenton County starts at $57,699, so $10,441 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Kenton County Police Department officer make?
Kenton County Police Department starts a new officer on $57,699 a year, about $27.74 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 Kenton County Fiscal Court, Police Department "Recruitment" page, New Hire (Entry Level): "Starting Salary: $26.11 /Hour increased to $27.74 /Hour upon completion of training"..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Kentucky?
It ranks #9 of 15 agencies we have verified in Kentucky — 6 pay less, 8 pay more in the state — and #1,715 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $8,986 below, and against other municipal agencies $10,441 below.
Compare with another department
Put Kenton 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 KY
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Kenton | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky State Police | State | 1,078 | $71,000 | +$13,301 | #877 |
| 2 | Louisville Metro Police Department | Municipal | 1,013 | $66,760 | +$9,060 | #1,138 |
| 3 | Paducah Police Department | Municipal | 68 | $65,146 | +$7,446 | #1,246 |
| 4 | Lexington Police Department | Municipal | 541 | $64,424 | +$6,725 | #1,293 |
| 5 | Richmond Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $63,988 | +$6,289 | #1,320 |
| 6 | Bowling Green Police Department | Municipal | 140 | $63,839 | +$6,140 | #1,329 |
| 7 | University of Kentucky Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 76 | $63,200 | +$5,501 | #1,371 |
| 8 | Owensboro Police Department | Municipal | 101 | $62,254 | +$4,555 | #1,432 |
| 10 | Elizabethtown Police Department | Municipal | 77 | $57,200 | −$499 | #1,745 |
| 11 | Georgetown Police Department | Municipal | 75 | $55,345 | −$2,354 | #1,830 |
| 12 | Henderson Police Department | Municipal | 58 | $51,778 | −$5,921 | #2,001 |
| 13 | Hopkinsville Police Department | Municipal | 72 | $51,239 | −$6,460 | #2,025 |
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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