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Lake Stevens 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.
Lake Stevens Police Department starts at $94,065 a year — about $45.22 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $25,675 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $22,801 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Washington run about 7% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $87,901 somewhere at average prices — $6,164 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 126 against a national average of 100, where goods are 104. 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 isLake Stevens Police Department reported 46 sworn officers and 11 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.1 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 41,929.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 Lake Stevens says about itself
We serve the Lake Stevens community by enhancing public safety and quality of life through professional police services, organizational excellence, and community interaction.
What Lake Stevens does
Lake Stevens Police Department began in 1960 under a single officer, Chief Shorty Countryman, when the city was less than one square mile; it now covers over nine square miles and more than 42,000 residents. Accredited by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, it runs four divisions - Office of the Chief, Operations, Support Services and Administration - with patrol split into four squads covering the city around the clock.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Lake Stevens official Entry — open the source document
Opened 11 January 2026; closes 31 December 2026; official minimum $94,065.12
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 Lake Stevens 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. Lake Stevens starts at $94,065, so $22,778 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Lake Stevens Police Department officer make?
Lake Stevens Police Department starts a new officer on $94,065 a year, about $45.22 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 Lake Stevens official Entry.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Washington?
It ranks #22 of 76 agencies we have verified in Washington — 54 pay less, 21 pay more in the state — and #154 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $25,675 above, and against other municipal agencies $22,801 above.
Compare with another department
Put Lake Stevens 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 WA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Lake | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Police Department | Municipal | 1,064 | $117,792 | +$23,727 | #35 |
| 2 | Redmond Police Department | Municipal | 81 | $110,435 | +$16,370 | #52 |
| 3 | Auburn Police Department | Municipal | 120 | $108,386 | +$14,321 | #57 |
| 4 | Everett Police Department | Municipal | 207 | $102,516 | +$8,451 | #81 |
| 5 | Vancouver Police Department | Municipal | 226 | $101,832 | +$7,767 | #85 |
| 6 | Kirkland Police Department | Municipal | 108 | $101,218 | +$7,152 | #92 |
| 7 | Tukwila Police Department | Municipal | 76 | $101,064 | +$6,999 | #94 |
| 8 | Mount Vernon Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $100,836 | +$6,771 | #97 |
| 9 | Edmonds Police Department | Municipal | 48 | $99,168 | +$5,103 | #108 |
| 10 | Tacoma Police Department | Municipal | 343 | $98,571 | +$4,506 | #111 |
| 11 | Issaquah Police Department | Municipal | 36 | $98,150 | +$4,085 | #114 |
| 12 | Renton Police Department | Municipal | 132 | $97,692 | +$3,627 | #117 |
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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