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Mississippi Capitol 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.
Mississippi Capitol Police starts at $46,700 a year — about $22.45 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $19,985 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $18,466 below the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Mississippi run about 13% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $53,707 would somewhere at average prices — $7,007 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 56 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.
What Mississippi Capitol says about itself
The Office of Capitol Police is a unit of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. As such, the Office is charged with the responsibility of protecting life and property within the boundaries of the Capitol Complex Improvement District located in Jackson, the Bolton properties in Biloxi and the State Service Center in Hattiesburg. We are obligated to conform to the United States Constitution to enforce the laws, preserve the peace, reduce fear and provide for a safe environment.
What Mississippi Capitol does
Mississippi Capitol Police is a unit of the Department of Public Safety charged with protecting life and property within the Capitol Complex Improvement District in Jackson. Officers patrol, respond to calls, investigate crimes, interview suspects and witnesses, testify in court and make arrests.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 6 September 2026. Mississippi Department of Public Safety — Capitol Police pay scale, posted on the State's own careers portal — open the source document
Their source is effective 16 June 2025.
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 Mississippi Capitol 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. Mississippi Capitol starts at $46,700, so $18,466 below the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Mississippi Capitol Police officer make?
Mississippi Capitol Police starts a new officer on $46,700 a year, about $22.45 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 Mississippi Department of Public Safety — Capitol Police pay scale, posted on the State's own careers portal.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Mississippi?
It ranks #10 of 12 agencies we have verified in Mississippi — 2 pay less, 9 pay more in the state — and #2,175 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $19,985 below, and against other state agencies $18,466 below.
Compare with another department
Put Mississippi Capitol 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 MS
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Mississippi | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DeSoto County Sheriff's Office | County | 185 | $65,564 | +$18,864 | #1,216 |
| 2 | Southaven Police Department | Municipal | 150 | $61,982 | +$15,282 | #1,451 |
| 3 | Hattiesburg Police Department | Municipal | 92 | $55,000 | +$8,300 | #1,853 |
| 4 | Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol | State | 397 | $54,000 | +$7,300 | #1,910 |
| 5 | Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics | State | — | $54,000 | +$7,300 | #1,911 |
| 6 | Oxford Police Department | Municipal | 106 | $52,531 | +$5,831 | #1,967 |
| 7 | Gulfport Police Department | Municipal | 134 | $51,241 | +$4,541 | #2,024 |
| 8 | Mississippi Department of Revenue - Alcoholic Beverage Control Bureau of Enforcement | State | — | $50,000 | +$3,300 | #2,077 |
| 9 | Biloxi Police Department | Municipal | 122 | $48,300 | +$1,600 | #2,136 |
| 11 | Ocean Springs Police Department | Municipal | 39 | $45,474 | −$1,226 | #2,196 |
| 12 | Mississippi Department of Marine Resources - Marine Patrol | State | — | $45,000 | −$1,700 | #2,208 |
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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