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Powell 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.
Powell Police Department starts at $81,426 a year — about $39.15 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $13,036 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $10,162 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Ohio run about 7% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $87,768 would somewhere at average prices — $6,342 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 isPowell Police Department reported 21 sworn officers and 2 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.4 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 14,705.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 Powell says about itself
It is the mission of the Powell Police Department to safeguard persons and property through preparedness and vigilance. The department holds true to a community policing philosophy. Its members shall continually strive for excellence in service, training, and professional development.
What Powell does
Powell Police Department serves a Delaware County city of over 14,000 across 5.82 square miles north of Columbus, and has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies since 2002, taking Advanced Accreditation with Excellence under the Gold Standard assessment in 2016. It consists of around 20 sworn officers and two civilian clerks — a chief, a deputy chief, three sergeants, two detectives and thirteen police officers — working to a community policing philosophy with an emphasis on training and on upgrading technology in its vehicles and at headquarters. Under its 2024–2026 FOP contract, officers moved from 2025 onto either twelve-hour shifts with Friday, Saturday and Sunday off every other week, or eight-hour shifts with one weekend day off each week.
Shifts at Powell
From 2025 Powell schedules move to twelve-hour shifts with Friday, Saturday and Sunday off every other week, or eight-hour shifts with one weekend day off each week.
A choice between twelves with alternate long weekends and eights with one weekend day is really two different calendars. BlueShifts builds whichever one you are on and shows the weekends before you plan around them.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 14 August 2026. City of Powell — Police Officer — Step 1 — open the source document
Patrol Officers agreement 2024-2026; rate effective first full pay period including 1 July 2026 | Class: Police Officer — Step 1 | Post-academy: yes — Police Officer Step 1 is the first officer pay step under the 2026 agreement | The durable official City patrol-officer agreement publishes Step 1 at $81,426.29 for the period beginning with the first full pay period including July 1, 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.
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How this level compares
Where Powell 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. Powell starts at $81,426, so $10,139 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Powell Police Department officer make?
Powell Police Department starts a new officer on $81,426 a year, about $39.15 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 Powell — Police Officer — Step 1.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Ohio?
It ranks #3 of 40 agencies we have verified in Ohio — 37 pay less, 2 pay more in the state — and #364 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $13,036 above, and against other municipal agencies $10,162 above.
What shifts do Powell Police Department officers work?
From 2025 Powell schedules move to twelve-hour shifts with Friday, Saturday and Sunday off every other week, or eight-hour shifts with one weekend day off each week. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put Powell 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 OH
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Powell | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Westlake Police Department | Municipal | — | $88,712 | +$7,286 | #236 |
| 2 | University Heights Police Department | Municipal | 29 | $82,259 | +$833 | #343 |
| 4 | Stow Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $80,288 | −$1,138 | #404 |
| 5 | Cincinnati Police Department | Municipal | 971 | $79,359 | −$2,067 | #423 |
| 6 | Canfield Police Department | Municipal | 21 | $79,002 | −$2,424 | #428 |
| 7 | Mentor Police Department | Municipal | — | $77,849 | −$3,578 | #461 |
| 8 | Beavercreek Police Department | Municipal | 53 | $76,918 | −$4,508 | #482 |
| 9 | Grandview Heights Division of Police | Municipal | 24 | $76,708 | −$4,719 | #487 |
| 10 | Shaker Heights Police Department | Municipal | 68 | $76,566 | −$4,860 | #493 |
| 11 | Centerville Police Department | Municipal | 37 | $75,608 | −$5,818 | #533 |
| 12 | Delaware Police Department | Municipal | 56 | $75,254 | −$6,172 | #548 |
| 13 | New Albany Police Department | Municipal | 30 | $73,633 | −$7,794 | #607 |
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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