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Mooresville 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.

Mooresville Police Department starts at $59,000 a year — about $28.37 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $7,685 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $9,140 below the median for municipal agencies.

Cost of livingPrices in North Carolina run about 6% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $62,549 would somewhere at average prices — $3,549 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 81 against a national average of 100, where goods are 97. 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 isMooresville Police Department reported 107 sworn officers and 29 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.0 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 53,489.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 Mooresville says about itself

We are a nationally accredited police department through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and we are committed to providing the citizens of Mooresville with the highest level of police service by meeting nationally set standards of police excellence through model policies, procedures, and practices.

What Mooresville does

The Mooresville Police Department is a CALEA-accredited agency serving the Town of Mooresville, North Carolina.

Where the figure comes from

Checked 19 September 2026. Town of Mooresville Police Employment page, starting salary on sworn status — open the source document
Current page read 19 September 2026; no effective date stated. Salary range $59,000 to $100,278.
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 Mooresville sits is partly about the agency and partly about which level of policing it belongs to. The three levels do not pay the same.

LevelLowestMedianHighestAgencies
Municipal$33,280$68,140$163,6191549
County$35,000$63,565$132,263516
Special jurisdiction$31,200$60,204$107,95471
State$33,994$65,166$110,916145
Federal$70,477$73,502$86,5305
Territory$16,640$28,236$43,3549
What this shows

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. Mooresville starts at $59,000, so $9,140 below the municipal middle.

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How it ranks

Nationally #1,628of 2,288 agencies Top 71% of everything we have verified
In NC #16of 53 agencies 37 pay less, 15 pay more
Hourly to start $28on a 2,080-hour year Base pay only, before overtime or any differential

Common questions

How much does a Mooresville Police Department officer make?

Mooresville Police Department starts a new officer on $59,000 a year, about $28.37 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 Town of Mooresville Police Employment page, starting salary on sworn status.

Is that good pay for a police officer in North Carolina?

It ranks #16 of 53 agencies we have verified in North Carolina — 37 pay less, 15 pay more in the state — and #1,628 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $7,685 below, and against other municipal agencies $9,140 below.

Compare with another department

Put Mooresville 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.

Compare Mooresville

The agencies either side of it

Other agencies in NC

Go
#AgencyLevelSworn #Entry payVs MooresvilleNational
1Knightdale Police DepartmentMunicipal45$67,363+$8,363#1,104
2Cary Police DepartmentMunicipal194$65,104+$6,104#1,247
3Wake Forest Police DepartmentMunicipal96$65,093+$6,093#1,248
4Appalachian State University Police DepartmentSpecial jurisdiction36$64,084+$5,084#1,312
5North Carolina State Highway PatrolState—$63,250+$4,250#1,368
6Huntersville Police DepartmentMunicipal92$62,647+$3,647#1,400
7Apex Police DepartmentMunicipal104$62,524+$3,524#1,408
8Fuquay-Varina Police DepartmentMunicipal70$62,291+$3,291#1,430
9Johnston County Sheriff's OfficeCounty124$62,213+$3,213#1,436
10Chapel Hill Police DepartmentMunicipal82$61,451+$2,451#1,477
11Raleigh Police DepartmentMunicipal713$61,417+$2,417#1,478
12Duke University Police DepartmentSpecial jurisdiction57$60,195+$1,195#1,551

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