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Racine 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.
Racine Police Department starts at $70,928 a year — about $34.10 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $2,538 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $336 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI run about 4% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $73,913 would somewhere at average prices — $2,985 more than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 90 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. Based on price levels for this metropolitan 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 isRacine Police Department reported 180 sworn officers and 34 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.3 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 78,032.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 Racine says about itself
The Racine Police Department serves the City of Racine in Southeastern Wisconsin. We are a department that has adopted the philosophy of Community Orientated Policing and is a recognized leader in this area. Our Mission is to Protect Life and Property, Promote Community Partnerships, Build Trust and Serve with Honor.
What Racine does
Racine Police serves the city through community-oriented policing, with a mission to protect life and property, promote community partnerships and build trust.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 13 August 2026. $34.10/hour / $70,928 annualized at 2,080 hours. Current official City Police Officer recruitment opened June 25, 2026 publishes $34. — open the source document
Opening date June 25, 2026. $34.10/hour / $70,928 annualized at 2,080 hours. Current official City Police Officer recruitment opened June 25, 2026 publishes $34.10-$45.11 hourly. Minimum qualifications do not require prior law-enforcement employment, reference age at Police Academy graduation, and the q
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 Racine 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. Racine starts at $70,928, so $359 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Racine Police Department officer make?
Racine Police Department starts a new officer on $70,928 a year, about $34.10 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 $34.10/hour / $70,928 annualized at 2,080 hours. Current official City Police Officer recruitment opened June 25, 2026 publishes $34..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Wisconsin?
It ranks #20 of 74 agencies we have verified in Wisconsin — 54 pay less, 19 pay more in the state — and #729 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $2,538 above, and against other municipal agencies $336 below.
Compare with another department
Put Racine 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 WI
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Racine | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Menomonee Falls Police Department | Municipal | 59 | $82,618 | +$11,690 | #339 |
| 2 | Fitchburg Police Department | Municipal | 50 | $78,790 | +$7,862 | #432 |
| 3 | Brookfield Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $78,666 | +$7,738 | #438 |
| 4 | Cedarburg Police Department | Municipal | 24 | $77,561 | +$6,633 | #469 |
| 5 | Stoughton Police Department | Municipal | 23 | $76,378 | +$5,450 | #498 |
| 6 | Waukesha County Sheriff's Office | County | 158 | $76,128 | +$5,200 | #505 |
| 7 | River Falls Police Department | Municipal | 27 | $75,525 | +$4,597 | #535 |
| 8 | Grafton Police Department | Municipal | 22 | $75,102 | +$4,174 | #555 |
| 9 | Dodge County Sheriff's Office | County | 64 | $75,088 | +$4,160 | #556 |
| 10 | St. Croix County Sheriff's Office | County | 98 | $74,695 | +$3,767 | #568 |
| 11 | Kenosha Police Department | Municipal | 231 | $74,640 | +$3,712 | #572 |
| 12 | Glendale Police Department | Municipal | 39 | $74,040 | +$3,112 | #592 |
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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