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Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol 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 Highway Safety Patrol starts at $54,000 a year — about $25.96 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $14,390 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $10,998 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 $62,103 would somewhere at average prices — $8,103 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.
How big the department isMississippi Highway Safety Patrol reported 397 sworn officers to the FBI for 2025.No rate is shown: this agency does not police a single population the FBI publishes a figure for. 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 Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol
The Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol was created on 1 April 1938 and enforces the rules of the road set out in Title 63 of the Mississippi Code, promoting the safe operation of vehicles on the state's roads and highways. It runs nine enforcement troops across the state, grouped into northern, central and southern regions under majors, with each troop led by a captain; troopers assigned to district offices are the first line of response and patrol every highway in their district. On request the Patrol assists counties and municipalities that lack the resources or expertise for a particular crime or problem, and troopers must be ready to answer statewide emergencies at the Governor's request. Some are assigned full time to the Motor Carrier Division enforcing federal commercial vehicle safety rules. The Patrol also maintains records for more than 2.7 million state-issued driver's licences, identity cards and firearms permits.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Mississippi Legislature official — amended DPS Sworn Officers Salary Schedule — open the source document
2024 legislation revising Trooper salary to $54,000; 2026 legislation carries the salary-schedule framework forward
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 Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol 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. Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol starts at $54,000, so $10,998 below the state middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol officer make?
Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol starts a new officer on $54,000 a year, about $25.96 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 Legislature official — amended DPS Sworn Officers Salary Schedule.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Mississippi?
It ranks #3 of 8 agencies we have verified in Mississippi — 5 pay less, 2 pay more in the state — and #1,469 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $14,390 below, and against other state agencies $10,998 below.
Compare with another department
Put Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol 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 | Southaven Police Department | Municipal | 150 | $61,982 | +$7,982 | #1,157 |
| 2 | Hattiesburg Police Department | Municipal | 92 | $55,000 | +$1,000 | #1,431 |
| 4 | Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics | State | — | $54,000 | same | #1,470 |
| 5 | Mississippi Department of Revenue - Alcoholic Beverage Control Bureau of Enforcement | State | — | $50,000 | −$4,000 | #1,567 |
| 6 | Biloxi Police Department | Municipal | 122 | $48,300 | −$5,700 | #1,594 |
| 7 | Mississippi Capitol Police | State | — | $46,700 | −$7,300 | #1,611 |
| 8 | Mississippi Department of Marine Resources - Marine Patrol | State | — | $45,000 | −$9,000 | #1,631 |
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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