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Norfolk 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.
Norfolk Police Department starts at $61,200 a year — about $29.42 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $7,190 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $10,064 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC run about 2% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $62,487 would somewhere at average prices — $1,287 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 90, 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 isNorfolk Police Department reported 542 sworn officers and 185 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.4 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 230,068.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 Norfolk says about itself
The Norfolk Police Department stands as the vigilant guardians of safety and order within our vibrant city. Committed to excellence, our officers uphold the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and service to the community.
What Norfolk does
Norfolk Police Department provides municipal law-enforcement service and trains recruits through a Basic Law Enforcement Academy.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. City of Norfolk FY2027 Compensation Plan / Police Training Division — open the source document
Current City plan lists Police Recruit minimum at $58,285 and Police Officer minimum at $61,200 and expressly states successful Academy completion causes automatic reclassification from Police Recruit to Police Officer. The $61,200 post-academy figure is used. Class: Police Officer. Trainee class: YES. Current City compensation plan states Police Recruits who successfully complete the Academy are automatically reclassified to Police Officer. Norfolk Police Department employs sworn municipal Police Officers and operates a Police Academy training program.
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 Norfolk 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. Norfolk starts at $61,200, so $10,087 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Norfolk Police Department officer make?
Norfolk Police Department starts a new officer on $61,200 a year, about $29.42 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 Norfolk FY2027 Compensation Plan / Police Training Division.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Virginia?
It ranks #15 of 36 agencies we have verified in Virginia — 21 pay less, 14 pay more in the state — and #1,184 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $7,190 below, and against other municipal agencies $10,064 below.
Compare with another department
Put Norfolk 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 VA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Norfolk | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arlington County Police Department | County | 299 | $90,012 | +$28,812 | #215 |
| 2 | Falls Church Police Department | Municipal | 32 | $76,400 | +$15,200 | #496 |
| 3 | Alexandria Police Department | Municipal | 264 | $75,000 | +$13,800 | #560 |
| 4 | Fairfax County Police Department | County | 1,390 | $74,035 | +$12,835 | #593 |
| 5 | Prince William County Police Department | County | 656 | $74,000 | +$12,800 | #595 |
| 6 | Loudoun County Sheriff's Office | County | 648 | $70,955 | +$9,755 | #727 |
| 7 | Leesburg Police Department | Municipal | 74 | $68,500 | +$7,300 | #834 |
| 8 | Prince William County Sheriff's Office | County | 656 | $66,596 | +$5,396 | #941 |
| 9 | Henrico County Police Division | County | 628 | $65,959 | +$4,759 | #968 |
| 10 | Fairfax County Sheriff's Office | County | 433 | $64,997 | +$3,797 | #1,025 |
| 11 | Richmond Police Department | Municipal | 608 | $63,360 | +$2,160 | #1,091 |
| 12 | Hanover County Sheriff's Office | County | 247 | $63,345 | +$2,145 | #1,093 |
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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