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Los Gatos 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.
Los Gatos Police Department starts at $132,394 a year — about $63.65 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $65,709 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $64,254 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in California run about 11% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $119,575 somewhere at average prices — $12,818 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.
How big the department isLos Gatos Police Department reported 34 sworn officers and 20 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.0 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 32,840.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 Los Gatos says about itself
The Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department is committed to ensuring public safety with integrity, compassion, and professionalism.
What Los Gatos does
The Los Gatos Police Department serves the Town of Los Gatos and, under contract, the City of Monte Sereno, in Santa Clara County, California.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 20 September 2026. Town of Los Gatos, POA Classifications Salary Schedule for fiscal year 2025/26, Police Officer class 7510, step 1 — open the source document
Effective the first full pay period in July 2025, carrying a general increase of 5%; $63.6508 an hour, annualised at 2,080 hours - the schedule publishes hourly rates and no annual basis. The separate Police Trainee class (9519) is paid 95% of Police Officer step 1 and is not this figure. The Town and the City of Monte Sereno run the department jointly, and the FBI roster carries it as Los Gatos Police Department.
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 Los Gatos 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 Gatos starts at $132,394, so $64,254 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Los Gatos Police Department officer make?
Los Gatos Police Department starts a new officer on $132,394 a year, about $63.65 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 Town of Los Gatos, POA Classifications Salary Schedule for fiscal year 2025/26, Police Officer class 7510, step 1.
Is that good pay for a police officer in California?
It ranks #10 of 278 agencies we have verified in California — 268 pay less, 9 pay more in the state — and #10 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $65,709 above, and against other municipal agencies $64,254 above.
Compare with another department
Put Los Gatos 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 CA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Los | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Clara Police Department | Municipal | 141 | $163,619 | +$31,226 | #1 |
| 2 | Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety | Municipal | 227 | $149,443 | +$17,049 | #2 |
| 3 | Redwood City Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $147,942 | +$15,548 | #3 |
| 4 | San Jose Police Department | Municipal | 1,065 | $144,003 | +$11,610 | #4 |
| 5 | Mountain View Police Department | Municipal | 90 | $143,096 | +$10,702 | #5 |
| 6 | San Mateo Police Department | Municipal | 111 | $141,024 | +$8,630 | #6 |
| 7 | Los Altos Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $139,740 | +$7,346 | #7 |
| 8 | Hayward Police Department | Municipal | 171 | $138,965 | +$6,571 | #8 |
| 9 | Milpitas Police Department | Municipal | 84 | $138,261 | +$5,867 | #9 |
| 11 | Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,071 | $132,263 | −$131 | #11 |
| 12 | Menlo Park Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $132,036 | −$358 | #12 |
| 13 | Campbell Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $131,747 | −$646 | #13 |
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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