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Los Angeles World Airports — Los Angeles Airport 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.
Los Angeles World Airports — Los Angeles Airport Police starts at $87,257 a year — about $41.95 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $20,572 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $27,053 above the median for special jurisdiction agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in California run about 11% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $78,809 somewhere at average prices — $8,448 less than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 159 against a national average of 100, where goods are 106. 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.
What Los Angeles World Airports — Los Angeles Airport says about itself
The mission of the Los Angeles World Airports Police is to ensure the safe and secure operations of our airports. We are grounded in the precept that we are a service organization with a clear and distinct mission of serving the traveling public and the aviation community, providing the public with uninterrupted travel through Los Angeles International and Van Nuys airports.
What Los Angeles World Airports — Los Angeles Airport does
Airport Police Officers are sworn peace officers at Los Angeles World Airports. They enforce federal and state regulations, City ordinances and security, traffic and safety rules through patrol, arrest, report writing and related law-enforcement work.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 13 August 2026. $87,257 annual base minimum. Current official City of Los Angeles class specification revised June 26, 2026 publishes $87,257-$120,832 for Airport Police Officer I & II. — open the source document
Revised June 26, 2026. $87,257 annual base minimum. Current official City of Los Angeles class specification revised June 26, 2026 publishes $87,257-$120,832 for Airport Police Officer I & II. Minimum qualifications require age, education and work authorization but no prior law-enforcement experien
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 Los Angeles World Airports — Los Angeles Airport 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. Los Angeles World Airports — Los Angeles Airport starts at $87,257, so $27,053 above the special jurisdiction middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Los Angeles World Airports — Los Angeles Airport Police officer make?
Los Angeles World Airports — Los Angeles Airport Police starts a new officer on $87,257 a year, about $41.95 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 $87,257 annual base minimum. Current official City of Los Angeles class specification revised June 26, 2026 publishes $87,257-$120,832 for Airport Police Officer I & II..
Is that good pay for a police officer in California?
It ranks #202 of 278 agencies we have verified in California — 76 pay less, 201 pay more in the state — and #319 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $20,572 above, and against other special jurisdiction agencies $27,053 above.
Compare with another department
Put Los Angeles World Airports — Los Angeles Airport 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 CA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Los | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Clara Police Department | Municipal | 141 | $163,619 | +$76,362 | #1 |
| 2 | Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety | Municipal | 227 | $149,443 | +$62,186 | #2 |
| 3 | Redwood City Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $147,942 | +$60,685 | #3 |
| 4 | San Jose Police Department | Municipal | 1,065 | $144,003 | +$56,746 | #4 |
| 5 | Mountain View Police Department | Municipal | 90 | $143,096 | +$55,839 | #5 |
| 6 | San Mateo Police Department | Municipal | 111 | $141,024 | +$53,767 | #6 |
| 7 | Los Altos Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $139,740 | +$52,483 | #7 |
| 8 | Hayward Police Department | Municipal | 171 | $138,965 | +$51,708 | #8 |
| 9 | Milpitas Police Department | Municipal | 84 | $138,261 | +$51,004 | #9 |
| 10 | Los Gatos Police Department | Municipal | 34 | $132,394 | +$45,137 | #10 |
| 11 | Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,071 | $132,263 | +$45,006 | #11 |
| 12 | Menlo Park Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $132,036 | +$44,779 | #12 |
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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