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McAllen 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.
McAllen Police Department starts at $45,822 a year — about $22.03 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $22,568 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $25,442 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Texas run about 3% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $47,212 would somewhere at average prices — $1,389 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 88, where goods are 98. 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 McAllen
McAllen Police Department serves one of the largest cities in the Rio Grande Valley, close to 140,000 residents in a border economy built on agriculture, manufacturing, health care and tourism, from headquarters on North Bicentennial Boulevard. The department describes itself as one of several nationally working to redefine the role of policing, meeting the city neighbourhood by neighbourhood through problem-solving and neighbourhood-oriented policing
Where the figure comes from
Checked 20 August 2026. McAllen Police Department official Staff Services page — Salary and Special Pay (2025) — open the source document
McAllen Police Department Staff Services page, 'SALARY AND SPECIAL PAY (2025) — Starting Salaries for McAllen Police Officers': PPO I (Probationary Police Officer) $22.03/hr, PO III (After 1 year of service) $32.35/hr, Sergeant $40.13/hr, Lieutenant $46.13/hr. $22.03 x 2,080 = $45,822.40. THREE PHASES, AND THE MIDDLE ONE IS THE ENTRY FIGURE: the city's separate hiring advisory gives Paid Academy Training at $21.39/hr; the Staff Services page then shows PPO I at $22.03/hr as the starting salary for an officer, and PO III at $32.35/hr after one year. A hire is paid the academy rate as a trainee, is reclassified to Probationary Police Officer on completing the academy, and moves again at twelve months — the Corpus Christi and Santa Clara structure, so the post-academy sworn rate is the published figure. The scale is current: PO III $32.35/hr x 2,080 = $67,288, and the hiring advisory's 'Base Salary after one year, $67,295.86' divided by 2,080 is $32.3538 — the same rate, both effective 1 Oct 2025. Base only; certification, education and assignment incentive pay are listed separately.
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 McAllen 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. McAllen starts at $45,822, so $25,465 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a McAllen Police Department officer make?
McAllen Police Department starts a new officer on $45,822 a year, about $22.03 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 McAllen Police Department official Staff Services page — Salary and Special Pay (2025).
Is that good pay for a police officer in Texas?
It ranks #134 of 140 agencies we have verified in Texas — 6 pay less, 133 pay more in the state — and #1,616 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $22,568 below, and against other municipal agencies $25,442 below.
Compare with another department
Put McAllen 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 TX
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs McAllen | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Police Department | Municipal | 153 | $91,106 | +$45,284 | #192 |
| 2 | Frisco Police Department | Municipal | 270 | $90,750 | +$44,928 | #200 |
| 3 | Plano Police Department | Municipal | 414 | $90,729 | +$44,907 | #201 |
| 4 | Grand Prairie Police Department | Municipal | 287 | $90,000 | +$44,178 | #216 |
| 5 | Hurst Police Department | Municipal | — | $87,048 | +$41,226 | #264 |
| 6 | Lewisville Police Department | Municipal | 181 | $86,268 | +$40,446 | #276 |
| 7 | Coppell Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $84,968 | +$39,146 | #293 |
| 8 | Rockwall Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $84,448 | +$38,626 | #300 |
| 9 | The Colony Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,082 | +$38,260 | #306 |
| 10 | Baytown Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,049 | +$38,227 | #307 |
| 11 | McKinney Police Department | Municipal | 248 | $83,992 | +$38,170 | #309 |
| 12 | Mesquite Police Department | Municipal | 260 | $83,869 | +$38,046 | #312 |
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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