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Montclair 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.
Montclair Police Department starts at $53,713 a year — about $25.82 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $12,972 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $14,427 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in New Jersey run about 9% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $49,366 somewhere at average prices — $4,347 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 134 against a national average of 100, where goods are 107. 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 isMontclair Police Department reported 113 sworn officers and 17 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.7 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 41,340.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 Montclair says about itself
It is the mission of the Montclair Police Department to provide professional police service to the community by adhering to the values of respect, accountability and integrity.
What Montclair does
The Montclair Police Department serves the Township of Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 19 September 2026. Township of Montclair and PBA Local #53 Agreement 2019-2024, Schedule A, First Step (hired after 1 July 2013) — open the source document
Effective 1 January 2024; first step after the academy period, rising to $119,275 at the ninth step.
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 Montclair 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. Montclair starts at $53,713, so $14,427 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Montclair Police Department officer make?
Montclair Police Department starts a new officer on $53,713 a year, about $25.82 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 Township of Montclair and PBA Local #53 Agreement 2019-2024, Schedule A, First Step (hired after 1 July 2013).
Is that good pay for a police officer in New Jersey?
It ranks #15 of 27 agencies we have verified in New Jersey — 12 pay less, 14 pay more in the state — and #1,927 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $12,972 below, and against other municipal agencies $14,427 below.
Compare with another department
Put Montclair 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 NJ
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Montclair | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection — Fish & Wildlife Conservation Police | State | — | $74,153 | +$20,440 | #711 |
| 2 | New Jersey State Police | State | 3,351 | $64,956 | +$11,243 | #1,268 |
| 3 | Galloway Township Police Department | Municipal | 68 | $64,236 | +$10,523 | #1,307 |
| 4 | Monroe Township Police Department | Municipal | — | $63,736 | +$10,023 | #1,334 |
| 5 | New Jersey State Parole Board | State | — | $63,268 | +$9,555 | #1,367 |
| 6 | North Plainfield Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $59,036 | +$5,323 | #1,624 |
| 7 | Hamilton Township Police Division | Municipal | — | $59,000 | +$5,287 | #1,629 |
| 8 | Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department | Municipal | 16 | $58,000 | +$4,287 | #1,679 |
| 9 | Vineland Police Department | Municipal | 147 | $58,000 | +$4,287 | #1,681 |
| 10 | Cherry Hill Township Police Department | Municipal | 135 | $57,322 | +$3,609 | #1,741 |
| 11 | Toms River Township Police Department | Municipal | 145 | $56,792 | +$3,079 | #1,760 |
| 12 | South Brunswick Police Department | Municipal | — | $55,165 | +$1,452 | #1,840 |
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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