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Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development — DOTD 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.
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development — DOTD Police starts at $35,004 a year — about $16.83 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $33,386 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $29,994 below the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Louisiana run about 12% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $39,684 would somewhere at average prices — $4,680 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 63 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. 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.
About Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development — DOTD
DOTD Police is Louisiana's state transportation law-enforcement organization. Its fully commissioned POST-certified officers enforce commercial vehicle weight, size and registration laws and exercise the police authority assigned to the DOTD Police Force throughout the state.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development — DOTD Police Recruiting — open the source document
$35,004. Current official recruitment information verified 8 August 2026
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 Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development — DOTD 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. Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development — DOTD starts at $35,004, so $29,994 below the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development — DOTD Police officer make?
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development — DOTD Police starts a new officer on $35,004 a year, about $16.83 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 Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development — DOTD Police Recruiting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Louisiana?
It ranks #19 of 19 agencies we have verified in Louisiana — 0 pay less, 18 pay more in the state — and #1,672 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $33,386 below, and against other state agencies $29,994 below.
Compare with another department
Put Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development — DOTD 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 LA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Louisiana | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office | County | 916 | $58,200 | +$23,196 | #1,310 |
| 2 | Baton Rouge Police Department | Municipal | 544 | $58,000 | +$22,996 | #1,320 |
| 3 | Louisiana State Police | State | 1,192 | $57,680 | +$22,676 | #1,352 |
| 4 | New Orleans Police Department | Municipal | 906 | $54,421 | +$19,417 | #1,456 |
| 5 | Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries — Enforcement Division | State | — | $53,997 | +$18,993 | #1,473 |
| 6 | Lafayette Police Department | Municipal | 278 | $45,000 | +$9,996 | #1,630 |
| 7 | Covington Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $43,672 | +$8,668 | #1,641 |
| 8 | Bossier City Police Department | Municipal | 200 | $42,576 | +$7,572 | #1,646 |
| 9 | LSU Health New Orleans University Police | Special jurisdiction | — | $38,646 | +$3,642 | #1,660 |
| 10 | Northwestern State University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 17 | $38,646 | +$3,642 | #1,661 |
| 11 | Southern University and A&M College Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 17 | $38,646 | +$3,642 | #1,662 |
| 12 | Grambling State University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 14 | $38,646 | +$3,642 | #1,663 |
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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