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Myrtle Beach 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.
Myrtle Beach Police Department starts at $66,747 a year — about $32.09 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $62 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $1,393 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC run about 6% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $71,279 would somewhere at average prices — $4,532 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 83 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. 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 isMyrtle Beach Police Department reported 215 sworn officers and 106 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 5.2 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 41,764.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 Myrtle Beach says about itself
We, the Men and Women of the Myrtle Beach Police Department, are committed to enhancing the quality of life through community partnerships and public safety while preserving the peace and protecting the constitutional and civil rights of those we serve.
What Myrtle Beach does
Myrtle Beach Police Department says its officers protect a diverse community and more than 20 million annual visitors. Entry recruits complete local pre-service training and the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy before becoming certified officers, with the department emphasizing service, equality, justice, professional growth and community protection
Shifts at Myrtle Beach
The Patrol Division is the backbone of the Myrtle Beach Police Department and the most visible presence in our community. Patrol officers serve on the front lines of law enforcement, working 24/7 to respond to calls for service, patrol neighborhoods, enforce traffic and criminal laws, and act as the first responders in emergencies.
Round-the-clock coverage in a resort city means the season changes the work as much as the shift does. BlueShifts keeps your own pattern straight across the whole year, peak weeks included.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 20 September 2026. City of Myrtle Beach Police Departm — open the source document
Salaries as of 26 June 2026. Non-certified Police Recruit pay is $63,960; certified Police Officer base pay is $66,747.20. Under the project's immediate post-academy sworn-rate standard, $66,747.20 is used. Degree differential, holiday pay, bonuses, shift briefing pay, overtime and lateral-experience placement are excluded RE-READ 20 September 2026 AND CONFIRMED CORRECT, and the reading is worth spelling out because the Department prices the rank twice. Its own recruitment page gives 'Non-Certified Officer (Police Recruit): $63,960/year' and 'Certified Police Officer: Starting at $66,747.20 (up to 10% more for already certified officers depending on experience)'. The $63,960 is a named POLICE RECRUIT rate and is barred. $66,747.20 is the base a recruit reaches on certification - the parenthesis proves it is not a lateral rate, because the lateral premium is expressed as up to 10 PER CENT ON TOP of it, depending on experience. So $66,747.20 is the post-academy, non-lateral officer rate, which is the measure. Excluded: the degree differential of $1,000 for an associate's, $2,000 for a bachelor's and $3,000 for a master's or above; the $1,000 a year second-language bonus; and the relocation incentive of up to $4,000. SHIFT PATTERN PUBLISHED but incomplete: a twelve-hour shift schedule, given as a 12.25-hour shift for patrol and special operations because a paid fifteen-minute briefing is included; no cycle is named.
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 Myrtle Beach 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. Myrtle Beach starts at $66,747, so $1,393 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Myrtle Beach Police Department officer make?
Myrtle Beach Police Department starts a new officer on $66,747 a year, about $32.09 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 Myrtle Beach Police Departm.
Is that good pay for a police officer in South Carolina?
It ranks #1 of 27 agencies we have verified in South Carolina — the highest in the state in the state — and #1,142 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $62 above, and against other municipal agencies $1,393 below.
What shifts do Myrtle Beach Police Department officers work?
The Patrol Division is the backbone of the Myrtle Beach Police Department and the most visible presence in our community. Patrol officers serve on the front lines of law enforcement, working 24/7 to respond to calls for service, patrol neighborhoods, enforce traffic and criminal laws, and act as the first responders in emergencies. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put Myrtle Beach 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 SC
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Myrtle | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | North Myrtle Beach Police Department | Municipal | 98 | $62,000 | −$4,747 | #1,449 |
| 3 | South Carolina Highway Patrol | State | 1,004 | $61,908 | −$4,839 | #1,454 |
| 4 | Horry County Police Department | County | — | $61,800 | −$4,947 | #1,461 |
| 5 | Rock Hill Police Department | Municipal | 148 | $61,331 | −$5,416 | #1,484 |
| 6 | York County Sheriff's Office | County | 223 | $61,081 | −$5,666 | #1,496 |
| 7 | Mount Pleasant Police Department | Municipal | 159 | $60,611 | −$6,136 | #1,526 |
| 8 | Greenville County Sheriff's Office | County | 576 | $59,273 | −$7,474 | #1,618 |
| 9 | Charleston Police Department | Municipal | 419 | $58,115 | −$8,632 | #1,671 |
| 10 | Greenville Police Department | Municipal | 219 | $57,353 | −$9,394 | #1,739 |
| 11 | University of South Carolina Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 6 | $56,696 | −$10,051 | #1,767 |
| 12 | North Charleston Police Department | Municipal | 308 | $56,078 | −$10,669 | #1,794 |
| 13 | Berkeley County Sheriff's Office | County | 305 | $55,975 | −$10,772 | #1,796 |
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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