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Nome 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.
Nome Police Department starts at $77,958 a year — about $37.48 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $11,274 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $9,818 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Alaska run about 2% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $76,162 somewhere at average prices — $1,797 less than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 119, where goods are 106. 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 isNome Police Department reported 11 sworn officers and 7 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 3.0 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 3,663.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 Nome says about itself
The Nome Police Department is a full service department, serving the city limits of Nome, comprised of a Chief of Police, Deputy Chief, two Patrol Sergeants, one Accreditation Manager, eight Sworn Police Officers, one full time Investigator, one Community Service Officer, and a professional dispatch center employing Communications Officers and a Communications Supervisor.
What Nome does
The Nome Police Department is the municipal force for the City of Nome on the Seward Peninsula in western Alaska. The City lists a chief, deputy chief, two patrol sergeants, eight sworn officers, an investigator and its own dispatch center.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 25 September 2026. City of Nome, agreement with the City of Nome Employees Association, Local #6141, APEA/AFT, January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2026 (Nome Common Council meeting attachment): Police Officer I, Range 16, Step A, 2026 "$37.48"; "newly hired employees shall start in the 'A' step at their pay range." — open the source document
Police Officer I is Range 16, and the contract says new hires start at Step A; the 2026 Step A rate is $37.48 an hour, converted at 2,080 hours on the contract's 40-hour week ($37.48 x 2,080 = $77,958.40). The pre-academy trainee class sits a range lower and is not the figure. The contract is the City's own, published as an attachment to a Nome Common Council meeting on the City's meeting portal. The City's jobs page still shows the older range of "$33.63 - 45.36" - the 2024 Step A, before the contract's 8.2% first-year rise. Excluded: longevity, overtime and the lateral sign-on bonus.
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.
Entry pay through 2027
Every point is the entry-class annual base printed in the agency’s own pay document. Base pay only — no shift differential, incentives or allowances.
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How this level compares
Where Nome 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. Nome starts at $77,958, so $9,818 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Nome Police Department officer make?
Nome Police Department starts a new officer on $77,958 a year, about $37.48 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 Nome, agreement with the City of Nome Employees Association, Local #6141, APEA/AFT, January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2026 (Nome Common Council meeting attachment): Police Officer I, Range 16, Step A, 2026 "$37.48"; "newly hired employees shall start in the 'A' step at their pay range.".
Is that good pay for a police officer in Alaska?
It ranks #10 of 15 agencies we have verified in Alaska — 5 pay less, 9 pay more in the state — and #557 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $11,274 above, and against other municipal agencies $9,818 above.
Compare with another department
Put Nome 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 AK
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Nome | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska State Troopers | State | 363 | $97,365 | +$19,406 | #158 |
| 2 | North Slope Borough Police Department | County | 47 | $94,120 | +$16,162 | #194 |
| 3 | Fairbanks International Airport Police and Fire Department | Special jurisdiction | — | $87,381 | +$9,422 | #315 |
| 4 | Anchorage Police Department | Municipal | 369 | $85,405 | +$7,446 | #347 |
| 5 | Juneau Police Department | Municipal | 41 | $84,490 | +$6,531 | #361 |
| 6 | Wasilla Police Department | Municipal | 29 | $80,558 | +$2,600 | #474 |
| 7 | Ketchikan Police Department | Municipal | 21 | $79,726 | +$1,768 | #502 |
| 8 | Kenai Police Department | Municipal | 17 | $79,414 | +$1,456 | #512 |
| 9 | Fairbanks Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $79,040 | +$1,082 | #521 |
| 11 | Petersburg Borough Police Department | Municipal | — | $71,406 | −$6,552 | #850 |
| 12 | Bristol Bay Borough Police Department | County | 4 | $68,390 | −$9,568 | #1,027 |
| 13 | Haines Borough Police Department | Municipal | — | $66,768 | −$11,190 | #1,136 |
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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