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New Orleans 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.
New Orleans Police Department starts at $54,421 a year — about $26.16 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $13,969 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $16,843 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in New Orleans-Metairie, LA run about 7% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $58,772 would somewhere at average prices — $4,351 more than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 71 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 isNew Orleans Police Department reported 906 sworn officers and 292 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.5 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 360,272.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.
About New Orleans
NOPD officers perform patrol and investigative work protecting life and property and enforcing federal, state and local laws and ordinances. Officers work throughout New Orleans and may be assigned rotating or fixed shifts.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. City of New Orleans Civil Service Police Officer promotional class specification — open the source document
Their source is effective 1 March 2026.
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 New Orleans 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 Orleans starts at $54,421, so $16,866 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a New Orleans Police Department officer make?
New Orleans Police Department starts a new officer on $54,421 a year, about $26.16 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 New Orleans Civil Service Police Officer promotional class specification.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Louisiana?
It ranks #4 of 19 agencies we have verified in Louisiana — 15 pay less, 3 pay more in the state — and #1,456 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $13,969 below, and against other municipal agencies $16,843 below.
Compare with another department
Put New Orleans 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 LA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs New | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office | County | 916 | $58,200 | +$3,779 | #1,310 |
| 2 | Baton Rouge Police Department | Municipal | 544 | $58,000 | +$3,579 | #1,320 |
| 3 | Louisiana State Police | State | 1,192 | $57,680 | +$3,259 | #1,352 |
| 5 | Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries — Enforcement Division | State | — | $53,997 | −$424 | #1,473 |
| 6 | Lafayette Police Department | Municipal | 278 | $45,000 | −$9,421 | #1,630 |
| 7 | Covington Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $43,672 | −$10,749 | #1,641 |
| 8 | Bossier City Police Department | Municipal | 200 | $42,576 | −$11,845 | #1,646 |
| 9 | LSU Health New Orleans University Police | Special jurisdiction | — | $38,646 | −$15,775 | #1,660 |
| 10 | Northwestern State University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 17 | $38,646 | −$15,775 | #1,661 |
| 11 | Southern University and A&M College Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 17 | $38,646 | −$15,775 | #1,662 |
| 12 | Grambling State University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 14 | $38,646 | −$15,775 | #1,663 |
| 13 | University of Louisiana Monroe Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 18 | $35,006 | −$19,415 | #1,666 |
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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