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North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division 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.
North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division starts at $53,477 a year — about $25.71 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $14,913 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $11,521 below the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in North Carolina run about 6% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $56,694 would somewhere at average prices — $3,217 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 81 against a national average of 100, where goods are 97. 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.
What North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division says about itself
The primary mission of Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) is to proactively enhance community safety by reducing criminal activity at both licensed and illegal alcohol establishments. ALE's 108 sworn special agents are peace officers authorized to investigate, arrest, and take enforcement action for any criminal offense with territorial jurisdiction throughout North Carolina.
What North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division does
North Carolina's Alcohol Law Enforcement Division fields 108 sworn special agents who are peace officers with territorial jurisdiction across the whole state, authorized to investigate, arrest and take enforcement action for any criminal offence. ALE is the lead enforcement agency for North Carolina's alcoholic beverage control, gambling, lottery and tobacco laws, with primary authority over nuisance abatement statutes, and its agents target licensed and illegal establishments that harbour violence, drugs, gang activity, organised crime and money laundering. The work runs to lengthy surveillance, undercover operations and detailed investigation for court or administrative hearings, alongside education programmes for retailers such as Be A Responsible Seller. The division traces to state ABC officers given full powers of arrest by the General Assembly in 1971, was created in its present form in 1977, and has run its own academy since 1980.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 15 August 2026. North Carolina Department of Public Safety — Alcohol Law Enforcement Careers — open the source document
The Division's own careers page gives a hiring salary of $53,477 a year for sworn officers, on a stepped progression that reaches $78,033 over six years through annual increases of 6.5 per cent. Agents must already hold BLET certification and either a degree or four years' sworn experience before appointment.
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 North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division 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. North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division starts at $53,477, so $11,521 below the state middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division officer make?
North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division starts a new officer on $53,477 a year, about $25.71 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 North Carolina Department of Public Safety — Alcohol Law Enforcement Careers.
Is that good pay for a police officer in North Carolina?
It ranks #25 of 40 agencies we have verified in North Carolina — 15 pay less, 24 pay more in the state — and #1,486 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $14,913 below, and against other state agencies $11,521 below.
Compare with another department
Put North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division 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 NC
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs North | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knightdale Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $67,363 | +$13,886 | #902 |
| 2 | Cary Police Department | Municipal | 194 | $65,104 | +$11,627 | #1,012 |
| 3 | Wake Forest Police Department | Municipal | 96 | $65,093 | +$11,616 | #1,013 |
| 4 | Appalachian State University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 36 | $64,084 | +$10,607 | #1,057 |
| 5 | North Carolina State Highway Patrol | State | — | $63,250 | +$9,773 | #1,100 |
| 6 | Johnston County Sheriff's Office | County | 124 | $62,213 | +$8,736 | #1,147 |
| 7 | Chapel Hill Police Department | Municipal | 82 | $61,451 | +$7,974 | #1,176 |
| 8 | Raleigh Police Department | Municipal | 713 | $61,417 | +$7,940 | #1,177 |
| 9 | Duke University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 57 | $60,195 | +$6,718 | #1,227 |
| 10 | Greensboro Police Department | Municipal | 582 | $59,509 | +$6,032 | #1,268 |
| 11 | Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department | Municipal | 1,702 | $59,502 | +$6,025 | #1,269 |
| 12 | Rolesville Police Department | Municipal | 25 | $59,304 | +$5,827 | #1,274 |
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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