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Muskegon 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.
Muskegon Police Department starts at $69,888 a year — about $33.60 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $1,498 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $1,376 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI run about 7% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $75,539 would somewhere at average prices — $5,651 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 74 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. Based on price levels for this metropolitan 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 isMuskegon Police Department reported 70 sworn officers and 16 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.9 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 37,306.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 Muskegon says about itself
Our mission is to reduce the perception and incidence of crime and enhance the quality of life for the citizens and guests of the City of Muskegon, through community partnerships and professional police services, while holding ourselves to the highest degree of accountability and ethical behavior.
What Muskegon does
Muskegon Police Department says its mission is to reduce the perception and incidence of crime and enhance quality of life for residents and guests through community partnerships and professional police services, while maintaining high accountability and ethical behavior. Its values emphasize compassion, dignity, courtesy, proactive community policing, citizen involvement and organizational excellence through education, training and technology
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Muskegon official Police Recrui — open the source document
2026 recruit posting establishes the academy route; current Police Officer posting opened 23 June 2026 lists minimum $69,888.00. Recruit pay is $25/hour while attending the academy; the sworn Police Officer minimum is used after academy/licensure
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 Muskegon 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. Muskegon starts at $69,888, so $1,399 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Muskegon Police Department officer make?
Muskegon Police Department starts a new officer on $69,888 a year, about $33.60 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 Muskegon official Police Recrui.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Michigan?
It ranks #7 of 38 agencies we have verified in Michigan — 31 pay less, 6 pay more in the state — and #781 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $1,498 above, and against other municipal agencies $1,376 below.
Compare with another department
Put Muskegon 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 MI
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Muskegon | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Troy Police Department | Municipal | 110 | $78,224 | +$8,336 | #452 |
| 2 | Grand Rapids Police Department | Municipal | 299 | $77,467 | +$7,579 | #471 |
| 3 | Wyoming Police Department | Municipal | 97 | $75,400 | +$5,512 | #539 |
| 4 | Sumpter Township Police Department | Municipal | 18 | $71,732 | +$1,844 | #684 |
| 5 | Lincoln Charter Township Police Department | Municipal | — | $71,696 | +$1,808 | #686 |
| 6 | Macomb County Sheriff's Office | County | 274 | $71,098 | +$1,210 | #718 |
| 8 | Livonia Police Department | Municipal | 117 | $69,784 | −$104 | #783 |
| 9 | Dearborn Police Department | Municipal | 186 | $69,080 | −$808 | #810 |
| 10 | Plymouth Township Police Department | Municipal | 33 | $68,140 | −$1,748 | #852 |
| 11 | Oscoda Township Police Department | Municipal | 12 | $68,140 | −$1,748 | #853 |
| 12 | Northville Police Department | Municipal | 12 | $65,956 | −$3,932 | #969 |
| 13 | Grand Valley State University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 21 | $65,000 | −$4,888 | #1,023 |
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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