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Ocean City 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.
Ocean City Police Department starts at $64,000 a year — about $30.77 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $2,685 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $4,140 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Maryland run about 5% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $60,976 somewhere at average prices — $3,024 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 121 against a national average of 100, where goods are 103. 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 isOcean City Police Department reported 129 sworn officers and 33 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 18.7 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 6,893.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 Ocean City says about itself
The Ocean City Police Department shall provide the highest degree of ethical behavior, professional conduct and quality police services to all residents and visitors.
What Ocean City does
The Ocean City Police Department serves the Town of Ocean City, Maryland, residents and visitors alike.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 19 September 2026. Ocean City Police Department recruiting site (joinocpd.com), full-time Police Officer starting salary — open the source document
Current page read 19 September 2026; no effective date stated. Full-time officer, not the seasonal position.
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 Ocean City 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. Ocean City starts at $64,000, so $4,140 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Ocean City Police Department officer make?
Ocean City Police Department starts a new officer on $64,000 a year, about $30.77 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 Ocean City Police Department recruiting site (joinocpd.com), full-time Police Officer starting salary.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Maryland?
It ranks #21 of 29 agencies we have verified in Maryland — 8 pay less, 20 pay more in the state — and #1,318 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $2,685 below, and against other municipal agencies $4,140 below.
Compare with another department
Put Ocean City 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 MD
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Ocean | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rockville City Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,256 | +$11,256 | #662 |
| 2 | Maryland Transit Administration Police Force | State | — | $72,829 | +$8,829 | #772 |
| 3 | Anne Arundel County Police Department | Municipal | 776 | $72,802 | +$8,802 | #773 |
| 4 | Frederick Police Department | Municipal | 151 | $71,351 | +$7,351 | #852 |
| 5 | Maryland Transportation Authority Police | State | 392 | $71,258 | +$7,258 | #860 |
| 6 | St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office | County | 167 | $71,011 | +$7,011 | #874 |
| 7 | Laurel Police Department | Municipal | 63 | $70,269 | +$6,269 | #920 |
| 8 | Prince George's County Police Department | County | 1,343 | $70,257 | +$6,257 | #922 |
| 9 | Worcester County Sheriff's Office | County | 91 | $70,221 | +$6,221 | #925 |
| 10 | Wicomico County Sheriff's Office | County | 97 | $70,000 | +$6,000 | #937 |
| 11 | Gaithersburg Police Department | Municipal | 66 | $70,000 | +$6,000 | #940 |
| 12 | Maryland State Police | State | 1,434 | $69,360 | +$5,360 | #969 |
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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