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Kentucky 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.
Kentucky State Police starts at $71,000 a year — about $34.13 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $4,315 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $5,834 above the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Kentucky run about 10% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $78,750 would somewhere at average prices — $7,750 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 isKentucky State Police reported 1,078 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 Kentucky State says about itself
All of Kentucky is thankful for the service of the over 1,800 employees who make up the agency, including more than 800 troopers and officers.
What Kentucky State does
The Kentucky State Police serves all 120 counties in the commonwealth, with more than 1,800 employees including over 800 troopers and officers. It works from numbered posts grouped into West, East and Special Enforcement troops, the last covering drug enforcement, aircraft support, vehicle investigations, special operations and the Critical Incident Response Team.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 6 September 2026. Kentucky State Police official news release — Cadet Class 108 recruitment, 23 June 2026 — open the source document
Their source is effective 23 June 2026.
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 Kentucky 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 | $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. Kentucky State starts at $71,000, so $5,834 above the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Kentucky State Police officer make?
Kentucky State Police starts a new officer on $71,000 a year, about $34.13 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 Kentucky State Police official news release — Cadet Class 108 recruitment, 23 June 2026.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Kentucky?
It ranks #1 of 15 agencies we have verified in Kentucky — the highest in the state in the state — and #877 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $4,315 above, and against other state agencies $5,834 above.
Compare with another department
Put Kentucky 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 KY
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Kentucky | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Louisville Metro Police Department | Municipal | 1,013 | $66,760 | −$4,240 | #1,138 |
| 3 | Paducah Police Department | Municipal | 68 | $65,146 | −$5,854 | #1,246 |
| 4 | Lexington Police Department | Municipal | 541 | $64,424 | −$6,576 | #1,293 |
| 5 | Richmond Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $63,988 | −$7,012 | #1,320 |
| 6 | Bowling Green Police Department | Municipal | 140 | $63,839 | −$7,161 | #1,329 |
| 7 | University of Kentucky Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 76 | $63,200 | −$7,800 | #1,371 |
| 8 | Owensboro Police Department | Municipal | 101 | $62,254 | −$8,746 | #1,432 |
| 9 | Kenton County Police Department | Municipal | 41 | $57,699 | −$13,301 | #1,715 |
| 10 | Elizabethtown Police Department | Municipal | 77 | $57,200 | −$13,800 | #1,745 |
| 11 | Georgetown Police Department | Municipal | 75 | $55,345 | −$15,655 | #1,830 |
| 12 | Henderson Police Department | Municipal | 58 | $51,778 | −$19,222 | #2,001 |
| 13 | Hopkinsville Police Department | Municipal | 72 | $51,239 | −$19,761 | #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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