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Ohio State Highway Patrol 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.
Ohio State Highway Patrol starts at $72,010 a year — about $34.62 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $3,620 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $7,012 above the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Ohio run about 7% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $77,618 would somewhere at average prices — $5,609 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 73 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. 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 isOhio State Highway Patrol reported 1,382 sworn officers to the FBI for 2025.No rate is shown: this agency does not police a single population the FBI publishes a figure for. 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 Ohio State Highway Patrol says about itself
The Ohio State Highway Patrol provides unbiased, professional public safety services through inclusion, collaboration, and innovation.
What Ohio State Highway Patrol does
The Ohio State Highway Patrol, established in 1933, is an internationally accredited agency that provides statewide traffic services across all 88 Ohio counties, statewide emergency response, investigation of criminal activity on state-owned and leased property, and security for the Governor and other dignitaries.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Ohio State Highway Patrol official Trooper career/pay information — open the source document
$72,009.60. Current official Ohio State Highway Patrol recruiting information; verified 8 August 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 Ohio State Highway Patrol 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. Ohio State Highway Patrol starts at $72,010, so $7,012 above the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Ohio State Highway Patrol officer make?
Ohio State Highway Patrol starts a new officer on $72,010 a year, about $34.62 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 Ohio State Highway Patrol official Trooper career/pay information.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Ohio?
It ranks #18 of 40 agencies we have verified in Ohio — 22 pay less, 17 pay more in the state — and #665 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $3,620 above, and against other state agencies $7,012 above.
Compare with another department
Put Ohio State Highway Patrol 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 OH
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Ohio | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Westlake Police Department | Municipal | — | $88,712 | +$16,702 | #236 |
| 2 | University Heights Police Department | Municipal | 29 | $82,259 | +$10,249 | #343 |
| 3 | Powell Police Department | Municipal | 21 | $81,426 | +$9,417 | #364 |
| 4 | Stow Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $80,288 | +$8,278 | #404 |
| 5 | Cincinnati Police Department | Municipal | 971 | $79,359 | +$7,350 | #423 |
| 6 | Canfield Police Department | Municipal | 21 | $79,002 | +$6,992 | #428 |
| 7 | Mentor Police Department | Municipal | — | $77,849 | +$5,839 | #461 |
| 8 | Beavercreek Police Department | Municipal | 53 | $76,918 | +$4,908 | #482 |
| 9 | Grandview Heights Division of Police | Municipal | 24 | $76,708 | +$4,698 | #487 |
| 10 | Shaker Heights Police Department | Municipal | 68 | $76,566 | +$4,556 | #493 |
| 11 | Centerville Police Department | Municipal | 37 | $75,608 | +$3,598 | #533 |
| 12 | Delaware Police Department | Municipal | 56 | $75,254 | +$3,245 | #548 |
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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