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Metropolitan Nashville 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.
Metropolitan Nashville Police Department starts at $70,904 a year — about $34.09 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $2,514 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $360 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Tennessee run about 8% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $77,179 would somewhere at average prices — $6,275 more than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 72 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. 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 isMetropolitan Nashville Police Department reported 1,546 sworn officers and 609 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.1 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 718,499.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.
About Metropolitan Nashville
Metropolitan Nashville Police Department says its mission is to provide community-based police services so the public can experience a safe and peaceful Nashville. Its values include organizational excellence and professionalism, impartial law enforcement, respect for the people it serves and its employees, problem-solving partnerships, open communication, ethics and integrity. The department also emphasizes accountability, transparency and community outreach
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County official GovernmentJobs posting — — open the source document
Current posting opened 29 May 2026; source states $66,204 for weeks 1–24 and $70,904 for weeks 25–50 as Police Officer 1; po
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 Metropolitan Nashville 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. Metropolitan Nashville starts at $70,904, so $383 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Metropolitan Nashville Police Department officer make?
Metropolitan Nashville Police Department starts a new officer on $70,904 a year, about $34.09 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 Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County official GovernmentJobs posting —.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Tennessee?
It ranks #2 of 12 agencies we have verified in Tennessee — 10 pay less, 1 pay more in the state — and #731 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $2,514 above, and against other municipal agencies $360 below.
Compare with another department
Put Metropolitan Nashville 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 TN
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Metropolitan | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brentwood Police Department | Municipal | 67 | $75,804 | +$4,900 | #529 |
| 3 | Murfreesboro Police Department | Municipal | 313 | $67,922 | −$2,982 | #867 |
| 4 | Tennessee Highway Patrol | State | — | $65,804 | −$5,100 | #978 |
| 5 | Franklin Police Department | Municipal | 138 | $65,000 | −$5,904 | #1,020 |
| 6 | Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency — Law Enforcement Division | State | — | $59,700 | −$11,204 | #1,260 |
| 7 | Memphis Police Department | Municipal | 1,966 | $57,937 | −$12,967 | #1,324 |
| 8 | Clarksville Police Department | Municipal | 328 | $57,712 | −$13,192 | #1,346 |
| 9 | Spring Hill Police Department | Municipal | 77 | $57,616 | −$13,288 | #1,355 |
| 10 | Shelby County Sheriff's Office | County | 621 | $51,518 | −$19,386 | #1,528 |
| 11 | Springfield Police Department | Municipal | 40 | $50,710 | −$20,194 | #1,543 |
| 12 | Kingsport Police Department | Municipal | 116 | $47,840 | −$23,064 | #1,602 |
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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