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Moundsville 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.
Moundsville Police Department starts at $54,621 a year — about $26.26 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $12,064 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $13,519 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in West Virginia run about 11% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $61,031 would somewhere at average prices — $6,410 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 54 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 isMoundsville Police Department reported 15 sworn officers and 4 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.0 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 7,615.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 Moundsville says about itself
The Moundsville Police Department's fundamental duty is to serve the citizens of Moundsville and those people within the boundaries of the City of Moundsville as needs arise; to safeguard their lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception; the weak against oppression or intimidation; and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the constitutional rights of all people to liberty, equality, and justice.
What Moundsville does
The Moundsville Police Department is the municipal force for the City of Moundsville, the seat of Marshall County in West Virginia's northern panhandle. The City lists round-the-clock dispatch, patrol, traffic safety, investigations and emergency management among its services.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 25 September 2026. City of Moundsville, "Help Wanted - Police Officers", posted 06/13/25: "Starting salary, $54,620.80 with increase upon successfully completing one-year probationary period." — open the source document
One starting salary for every new officer, printed as an annual and used as printed. Posted 13 June 2025 with applications due 25 July 2025. The City's undated Employment Opportunities page still reads "Starting salary, $52,000.00", which is the figure in its 2024 application packet, so the June 2025 figure is the newer one. Excluded: the $2,000 sign-on bonus, the uniform allowance and the post-probation increase.
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 Moundsville 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. Moundsville starts at $54,621, so $13,519 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Moundsville Police Department officer make?
Moundsville Police Department starts a new officer on $54,621 a year, about $26.26 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 City of Moundsville, "Help Wanted - Police Officers", posted 06/13/25: "Starting salary, $54,620.80 with increase upon successfully completing one-year probationary period.".
Is that good pay for a police officer in West Virginia?
It ranks #12 of 16 agencies we have verified in West Virginia — 4 pay less, 11 pay more in the state — and #1,882 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $12,064 below, and against other municipal agencies $13,519 below.
Compare with another department
Put Moundsville 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 WV
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Moundsville | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Virginia State Police | State | 440 | $60,984 | +$6,363 | #1,507 |
| 2 | Berkeley County Sheriff's Office | County | 64 | $59,187 | +$4,566 | #1,621 |
| 3 | Morgantown Police Department | Municipal | 57 | $58,157 | +$3,536 | #1,666 |
| 4 | Huntington Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $57,787 | +$3,166 | #1,702 |
| 5 | Charleston Police Department | Municipal | 152 | $57,485 | +$2,864 | #1,730 |
| 6 | Charles Town Police Department | Municipal | 16 | $57,462 | +$2,841 | #1,732 |
| 7 | Kanawha County Sheriff's Office | County | 95 | $57,054 | +$2,434 | #1,747 |
| 8 | Monongalia County Sheriff's Office | County | 35 | $56,300 | +$1,679 | #1,781 |
| 9 | Martinsburg Police Department | Municipal | 34 | $55,710 | +$1,089 | #1,809 |
| 10 | Wheeling Police Department | Municipal | 68 | $55,161 | +$540 | #1,842 |
| 11 | Jefferson County Sheriff's Office | County | 34 | $55,125 | +$504 | #1,844 |
| 13 | Fairmont Police Department | Municipal | 33 | $53,597 | −$1,024 | #1,935 |
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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