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Lakeland 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.
Lakeland Police Department starts at $63,461 a year — about $30.51 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $4,929 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $7,803 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL run about 3% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $65,329 would somewhere at average prices — $1,868 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 87, where goods are 96. 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 isLakeland Police Department reported 271 sworn officers and 108 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.1 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 127,935.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.
About Lakeland
The City describes the position as responsible police work protecting life and property through enforcement of laws and ordinances, preventing, detecting and investigating crimes and maintaining law and order.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. City of Lakeland official Police Officer - Certified Law Enforcement posting — open the source document
2026 posting, live at checking; current Police Officer range beginning $30.51 hourly = $63,460.80 at 2,080 hours. The posting separately announces a FUTURE range effective 1 October 2026, which is not used - and which is what the city's separate 'starting salary over $71K' recruitment notice refers to.
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 Lakeland 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. Lakeland starts at $63,461, so $7,826 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Lakeland Police Department officer make?
Lakeland Police Department starts a new officer on $63,461 a year, about $30.51 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 Lakeland official Police Officer - Certified Law Enforcement posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Florida?
It ranks #67 of 141 agencies we have verified in Florida — 74 pay less, 66 pay more in the state — and #1,084 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $4,929 below, and against other municipal agencies $7,803 below.
Compare with another department
Put Lakeland 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 FL
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Lakeland | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boca Raton Police Services Department | Municipal | 195 | $86,674 | +$23,213 | #270 |
| 2 | Fort Lauderdale Police Department | Municipal | 565 | $81,723 | +$18,262 | #354 |
| 3 | Plantation Police Department | Municipal | 164 | $81,000 | +$17,539 | #379 |
| 4 | Pinecrest Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $80,912 | +$17,451 | #383 |
| 5 | Sunny Isles Beach Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $80,000 | +$16,539 | #411 |
| 6 | Aventura Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $78,556 | +$15,095 | #441 |
| 7 | Coral Springs Police Department | Municipal | 222 | $77,516 | +$14,055 | #470 |
| 8 | Boynton Beach Police Department | Municipal | 173 | $76,650 | +$13,189 | #490 |
| 9 | North Palm Beach Police Department | Municipal | 37 | $76,378 | +$12,917 | #497 |
| 10 | Naples Police Department | Municipal | 74 | $76,320 | +$12,859 | #501 |
| 11 | West Palm Beach Police Department | Municipal | 295 | $75,921 | +$12,460 | #524 |
| 12 | Bay Harbor Islands Police Department | Municipal | 24 | $75,836 | +$12,375 | #528 |
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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