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Mercer Island 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.
Mercer Island Police Department starts at $88,483 a year — about $42.54 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $21,798 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $20,343 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Washington run about 7% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $82,685 somewhere at average prices — $5,799 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 126 against a national average of 100, where goods are 104. 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 isMercer Island Police Department reported 33 sworn officers and 5 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.3 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 25,192.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 Mercer Island says about itself
The mission of the Mercer Island Police Department is to protect and serve our community through fair, transparent, and comprehensive law enforcement, and to contribute to Mercer Island's reputation as a safe, friendly, economically thriving community in which to live, work, learn, play and visit. We achieve our mission by providing the highest quality law enforcement and community education services possible within the resources provided to us: we are professional, compassionate, highly-trained, technologically-advanced, and provide services that meet or exceed the expectations of our community. Its use of force policy opens by stating that it is the fundamental duty of law enforcement to preserve and protect all human life, and that officers shall respect and uphold the dignity of all persons and use their authority in a bias-free manner.
What Mercer Island does
Mercer Island Police Department says its mission is to protect and serve the community through fair, transparent and comprehensive law enforcement. Its core values are Professionalism, Accountability, Teamwork and Honor. The department provides a full range of police services through Police Operations and Administrative Services, including patrol, marine patrol, investigations, dispatch, records, evidence and training/personnel functions
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Mercer Island official Entry Lev — open the source document
Current City recruitment checked 8 August 2026 lists $88,483.20-$132,454.40 annually. The minimum $88,483.20 is used for the zero-experience entry track; incentives/add-ons excluded
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 Mercer Island 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. Mercer Island starts at $88,483, so $20,343 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Mercer Island Police Department officer make?
Mercer Island Police Department starts a new officer on $88,483 a year, about $42.54 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 Mercer Island official Entry Lev.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Washington?
It ranks #46 of 92 agencies we have verified in Washington — 46 pay less, 45 pay more in the state — and #296 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $21,798 above, and against other municipal agencies $20,343 above.
Compare with another department
Put Mercer Island 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 WA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Mercer | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Police Department | Municipal | 1,064 | $117,792 | +$29,309 | #38 |
| 2 | Redmond Police Department | Municipal | 81 | $110,435 | +$21,952 | #59 |
| 3 | Auburn Police Department | Municipal | 120 | $108,386 | +$19,903 | #68 |
| 4 | Lynnwood Police Department | Municipal | 71 | $106,371 | +$17,888 | #81 |
| 5 | Everett Police Department | Municipal | 207 | $102,516 | +$14,033 | #106 |
| 6 | Vancouver Police Department | Municipal | 226 | $101,832 | +$13,349 | #110 |
| 7 | Kirkland Police Department | Municipal | 108 | $101,218 | +$12,734 | #118 |
| 8 | Tukwila Police Department | Municipal | 76 | $101,064 | +$12,581 | #120 |
| 9 | Bothell Police Department | Municipal | 70 | $101,055 | +$12,571 | #121 |
| 10 | Mount Vernon Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $100,836 | +$12,353 | #125 |
| 11 | Kennewick Police Department | Municipal | 107 | $100,104 | +$11,621 | #128 |
| 12 | Edmonds Police Department | Municipal | 48 | $99,168 | +$10,685 | #140 |
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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