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Las Vegas 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.
Las Vegas Police Department starts at $62,400 a year — about $30.00 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $4,285 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $5,740 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in New Mexico run about 8% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $67,670 would somewhere at average prices — $5,270 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 74 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 isLas Vegas Police Department reported 27 sworn officers and 15 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.1 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 12,599.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 Las Vegas says about itself
The Las Vegas Police Department ensures public safety through crime prevention, law enforcement, and community outreach.
What Las Vegas does
The Las Vegas Police Department is the municipal force for the City of Las Vegas, the seat of San Miguel County in northern New Mexico. The City describes its work as crime prevention, law enforcement and community outreach.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 26 September 2026. City of Las Vegas, New Mexico, Police Officer job page: "$30.00/hr"; City post of 8 August 2025: "Starting pay for this position is $30 per hour, with regular increases over time." — open the source document
One rate, $30.00 an hour, converted at 2,080 hours ($62,400). Uncertified hires start on it - the posting requires "Peace Officer Certification or successfully complete Basic Recruit Training in a state-certified academy within the first 12 months of employment" - so there is no lower recruit rate. The City's recruiting post calling it the starting pay is dated 8 August 2025. This is Las Vegas, NEW MEXICO, not Nevada.
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 Las Vegas 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. Las Vegas starts at $62,400, so $5,740 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Las Vegas Police Department officer make?
Las Vegas Police Department starts a new officer on $62,400 a year, about $30.00 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 Las Vegas, New Mexico, Police Officer job page: "$30.00/hr"; City post of 8 August 2025: "Starting pay for this position is $30 per hour, with regular increases over time.".
Is that good pay for a police officer in New Mexico?
It ranks #7 of 22 agencies we have verified in New Mexico — 15 pay less, 6 pay more in the state — and #1,424 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $4,285 below, and against other municipal agencies $5,740 below.
Compare with another department
Put Las Vegas 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 NM
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Las | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Fe Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,046 | +$12,646 | #674 |
| 2 | New Mexico State Police | State | 1,174 | $70,845 | +$8,445 | #891 |
| 3 | Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office | County | 141 | $68,318 | +$5,918 | #1,032 |
| 4 | Farmington Police Department | Municipal | 119 | $66,102 | +$3,702 | #1,179 |
| 5 | Albuquerque Police Department | Municipal | 966 | $65,499 | +$3,099 | #1,220 |
| 6 | San Juan County Sheriff's Office | County | 86 | $63,045 | +$645 | #1,381 |
| 8 | Valencia County Sheriff's Office | County | 48 | $62,150 | −$250 | #1,439 |
| 9 | Lincoln County Sheriff's Office | County | — | $60,757 | −$1,643 | #1,520 |
| 10 | Carlsbad Police Department | Municipal | 57 | $59,842 | −$2,558 | #1,589 |
| 11 | McKinley County Sheriff's Office | County | 37 | $59,675 | −$2,725 | #1,598 |
| 12 | Los Lunas Police Department | Municipal | — | $59,212 | −$3,188 | #1,620 |
| 13 | Belen Police Department | Municipal | — | $57,845 | −$4,555 | #1,696 |
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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