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Redwood 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.
Redwood City Police Department starts at $147,942 a year — about $71.13 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $79,552 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $76,678 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA run about 16% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $127,963 somewhere at average prices — $19,979 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 195 against a national average of 100, where goods are 108. 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 isRedwood City Police Department reported 83 sworn officers and 33 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.0 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 82,769.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 Redwood City says about itself
We are a progressive police department which recognizes that by working in partnership with our community, we can best meet our goals of protecting life and property, improving the quality of life, and reducing crime and the fear of crime.
What Redwood City does
The Redwood City Police Department describes itself as a progressive organization of professionals dedicated to providing the best police services possible. It says that partnership with the community is central to protecting life and property, improving quality of life, and reducing crime and fear of crime. Its motto is “Providing Excellent Service with Integrity and Respect,” and the department emphasizes professionalism, community partnership, public safety, transparency, and service through patrol, investigations, and administrative/support functions
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Redwood City official Salary Ranges updated 22 December 2025 plus official Polic — open the source document
Their source is effective 8 September 2025.
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 Redwood 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 | $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. Redwood City starts at $147,942, so $76,655 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Redwood City Police Department officer make?
Redwood City Police Department starts a new officer on $147,942 a year, about $71.13 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 Redwood City official Salary Ranges updated 22 December 2025 plus official Polic.
Is that good pay for a police officer in California?
It ranks #3 of 222 agencies we have verified in California — 219 pay less, 2 pay more in the state — and #3 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $79,552 above, and against other municipal agencies $76,678 above.
Compare with another department
Put Redwood 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 CA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Redwood | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Clara Police Department | Municipal | 141 | $163,619 | +$15,677 | #1 |
| 2 | Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety | Municipal | 227 | $149,443 | +$1,501 | #2 |
| 4 | San Jose Police Department | Municipal | 1,065 | $144,003 | −$3,939 | #4 |
| 5 | Mountain View Police Department | Municipal | 90 | $143,096 | −$4,846 | #5 |
| 6 | San Mateo Police Department | Municipal | 111 | $141,024 | −$6,918 | #6 |
| 7 | Los Altos Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $139,740 | −$8,202 | #7 |
| 8 | Hayward Police Department | Municipal | 171 | $138,965 | −$8,977 | #8 |
| 9 | Milpitas Police Department | Municipal | 84 | $138,261 | −$9,681 | #9 |
| 10 | Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,071 | $132,263 | −$15,679 | #10 |
| 11 | Menlo Park Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $132,036 | −$15,906 | #11 |
| 12 | Campbell Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $131,747 | −$16,195 | #12 |
| 13 | Foster City Police Department | Municipal | 34 | $131,165 | −$16,777 | #13 |
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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