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Lakewood 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.
Lakewood Police Department starts at $85,093 a year — about $40.91 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $16,703 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $13,829 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Colorado run about 3% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $82,573 somewhere at average prices — $2,520 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 127 against a national average of 100, where goods are 99. 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 isLakewood Police Department reported 274 sworn officers and 122 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.8 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 157,016.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 Lakewood says about itself
The mission of the LPD is to serve and protect with integrity, intelligence and initiative.
What Lakewood does
Lakewood Police Department says its motto—Integrity, Intelligence, Initiative—has defined how it conducts business since the department began in 1970. Its goal is for every employee and volunteer to serve Lakewood residents with the highest level of commitment. The City describes the department as professional and progressive-minded, embracing education, innovation and diversity and recognizing that effective policing depends on its relationship with the community
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Lakewood official employment posting — Police Agent (Police Officer) — open the source document
Most recent date on the page: closes 31 December 2026 (opened 1 January 2026); entry Police Agent minimum $40.91/hour annualized at 2,080
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 Lakewood 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. Lakewood starts at $85,093, so $13,806 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Lakewood Police Department officer make?
Lakewood Police Department starts a new officer on $85,093 a year, about $40.91 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 Lakewood official employment posting — Police Agent (Police Officer).
Is that good pay for a police officer in Colorado?
It ranks #6 of 35 agencies we have verified in Colorado — 29 pay less, 5 pay more in the state — and #291 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $16,703 above, and against other municipal agencies $13,829 above.
Compare with another department
Put Lakewood 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 CO
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Lakewood | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado State Patrol | State | 706 | $91,620 | +$6,527 | #184 |
| 2 | Parker Police Department | Municipal | 89 | $89,898 | +$4,805 | #217 |
| 3 | Johnstown Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $86,944 | +$1,851 | #266 |
| 4 | Broomfield Police Department | Municipal | 135 | $86,029 | +$936 | #278 |
| 5 | Golden Police Department | Municipal | 53 | $85,321 | +$228 | #287 |
| 7 | Breckenridge Police Department | Municipal | 25 | $83,990 | −$1,102 | #310 |
| 8 | Thornton Police Department | Municipal | 243 | $82,992 | −$2,101 | #332 |
| 9 | Commerce City Police Department | Municipal | 109 | $82,327 | −$2,766 | #341 |
| 10 | Larimer County Sheriff's Office | County | 228 | $81,765 | −$3,328 | #353 |
| 11 | Westminster Police Department | Municipal | 187 | $80,746 | −$4,347 | #387 |
| 12 | Boulder County Sheriff's Office | County | 106 | $80,496 | −$4,597 | #395 |
| 13 | Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office | County | 560 | $79,539 | −$5,554 | #418 |
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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