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New Castle County Police 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.
New Castle County Police starts at $74,453 a year — about $35.79 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $6,063 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $9,079 above the median for county agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD run about 3% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $72,599 somewhere at average prices — $1,854 less than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 114, where goods are 97. 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 isNew Castle County Police reported 414 sworn officers and 89 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025.No rate is shown: this agency does not police a single population the FBI publishes a figure for. 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.
About New Castle County
New Castle County Police perform general-duty police work protecting life and property throughout the County. Officers prevent violations of statutes and ordinances, investigate complaints and disturbances, make arrests and issue summonses, execute warrants, transport prisoners, and provide public service.
New Castle County’s rotation, in BlueShifts
Patrol officers work 11-hour shifts on a four-on, four-off rotation.
The rotation template screen — enter the cycle and the start date, and you are done.
WorkingOff
Every month, already filled in — no typing, however far ahead you look.
September 2026
This cycle has its own page: how it works, and how to build it.
New Castle County publishes the days on and off but not which are days and which are nights. In BlueShifts you choose that yourself — every shift can be a day, a night or a 24-hour tour, and the calendar marks it with a sun, a moon or a clock.
Four on, four off is an eight-day cycle, so your days off walk through the week and never settle on the same ones twice running. Build it once in BlueShifts and every month is drawn for you, as far ahead as you want to look.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 16 August 2026. New Castle County Police Department — Benefits, the department's own site — open the source document
Their source is effective 26 July 2025.
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.
BlueShifts. Plan Your Year. Own Your Time.
The shift calendar built for your rotation, off-duty work, and life on and off the clock.
Save your shift schedule once and BlueShifts fills the rest of the year in.
How this level compares
Where New Castle County 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. New Castle County starts at $74,453, so $9,079 above the county middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a New Castle County Police officer make?
New Castle County Police starts a new officer on $74,453 a year, about $35.79 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 New Castle County Police Department — Benefits, the department's own site.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Delaware?
It ranks #5 of 14 agencies we have verified in Delaware — 9 pay less, 4 pay more in the state — and #582 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $6,063 above, and against other county agencies $9,079 above.
What shifts do New Castle County Police officers work?
Patrol officers work 11-hour shifts on a four-on, four-off rotation. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put New Castle County Police 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 DE
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs New | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delaware State Police | State | 783 | $91,265 | +$16,812 | #189 |
| 2 | New Castle City Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,338 | +$885 | #544 |
| 3 | University of Delaware Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 48 | $74,679 | +$226 | #570 |
| 4 | Middletown Police Department | Municipal | 38 | $74,550 | +$97 | #576 |
| 6 | Dover Police Department | Municipal | 101 | $72,000 | −$2,453 | #668 |
| 7 | Newark Police Department | Municipal | 72 | $70,000 | −$4,453 | #767 |
| 8 | Selbyville Police Department | Municipal | 10 | $68,788 | −$5,665 | #824 |
| 9 | Seaford Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $68,474 | −$5,979 | #838 |
| 10 | Milford Police Department | Municipal | 35 | $67,971 | −$6,482 | #864 |
| 11 | Wilmington Police Department | Municipal | 279 | $67,600 | −$6,853 | #888 |
| 12 | Cheswold Police Department | Municipal | 4 | $57,500 | −$16,953 | #1,359 |
| 13 | Delaware Capitol Police | State | — | $53,807 | −$20,646 | #1,475 |
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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