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Purdue University 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.
Purdue University Police Department starts at $72,137 a year — about $34.68 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $3,747 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $11,942 above the median for special jurisdiction agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Indiana run about 7% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $77,293 would somewhere at average prices — $5,156 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 74 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. 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 Purdue University says about itself
The Purdue University Police Department is here to assist members of the campus community with crime prevention, investigation, personal protection training and educational programs. PUPD supports the University's effort to provide a safe and secure educational environment where diverse social, cultural and academic values are encouraged to develop and prosper.
What Purdue University does
Purdue University Police provides police services for the campus community, including criminal investigation, traffic enforcement, event policing and community policing. The posted officer performs investigations, traffic control, crowd management and enforcement of Indiana law.
Shifts at Purdue University
Purdue's patrol division is the largest in the department and runs four different day and night shifts, covering a campus community of over 50,000.
Four shifts across days and nights means the same date looks different depending on which you are on. BlueShifts marks each shift with its own icon, so a month of mixed watches reads at a glance.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. Employer recruitment notice. Published via the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy job board. — open the source document
The source page does not state an effective date.
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 Purdue University 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. Purdue University starts at $72,137, so $11,942 above the special jurisdiction middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Purdue University Police Department officer make?
Purdue University Police Department starts a new officer on $72,137 a year, about $34.68 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 Employer recruitment notice. Published via the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy job board..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Indiana?
It ranks #8 of 39 agencies we have verified in Indiana — 31 pay less, 7 pay more in the state — and #659 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $3,747 above, and against other special jurisdiction agencies $11,942 above.
What shifts do Purdue University Police Department officers work?
Purdue's patrol division is the largest in the department and runs four different day and night shifts, covering a campus community of over 50,000. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put Purdue University 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 IN
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Purdue | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bloomington Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $81,234 | +$9,097 | #372 |
| 2 | MSD Wayne Township School Police Department | Special jurisdiction | — | $77,700 | +$5,563 | #464 |
| 3 | Columbus Police Department | Municipal | 88 | $74,984 | +$2,847 | #562 |
| 4 | Fishers Police Department | Municipal | 124 | $74,560 | +$2,423 | #575 |
| 5 | Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department | Municipal | — | $74,459 | +$2,322 | #581 |
| 6 | Lafayette Police Department | Municipal | 142 | $72,539 | +$402 | #646 |
| 7 | West Lafayette Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $72,391 | +$254 | #649 |
| 9 | Carmel Police Department | Municipal | 147 | $72,000 | −$137 | #667 |
| 10 | Indiana State Police | State | 1,171 | $70,000 | −$2,137 | #769 |
| 11 | Indiana Gaming Commission — Enforcement Division | State | — | $70,000 | −$2,137 | #770 |
| 12 | Hamilton County Sheriff's Office | County | 62 | $70,000 | −$2,137 | #775 |
| 13 | Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office | County | 67 | $68,339 | −$3,798 | #845 |
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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