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Renton 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.
Renton Police Department starts at $97,692 a year — about $46.97 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $29,302 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $26,428 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA run about 11% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $87,905 somewhere at average prices — $9,787 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 151 against a national average of 100, where goods are 104. 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 isRenton Police Department reported 132 sworn officers and 38 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.2 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 105,251.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 Renton says about itself
The Renton Police Department is a full-service law enforcement agency. It is our mission, through collaboration, to provide professional and unbiased law enforcement services to our community. Our officers work diligently, in partnership with the public, to protect life and property.
What Renton does
The Renton Police Department describes its mission around protecting life and property, preventing crime, enforcing laws, responding to emergencies, and working with the community to improve public safety. Its official materials emphasize professionalism, integrity, respect, accountability, service, and community partnership
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Renton official Police — open the source document
Opening 1 January 2026; all entry-level officers are hired as Patrol Officer I at $8,141/month; $97,692
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 Renton 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. Renton starts at $97,692, so $26,405 above the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Renton Police Department officer make?
Renton Police Department starts a new officer on $97,692 a year, about $46.97 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 Renton official Police.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Washington?
It ranks #12 of 76 agencies we have verified in Washington — 64 pay less, 11 pay more in the state — and #117 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $29,302 above, and against other municipal agencies $26,428 above.
Compare with another department
Put Renton 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 WA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Renton | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Police Department | Municipal | 1,064 | $117,792 | +$20,100 | #35 |
| 2 | Redmond Police Department | Municipal | 81 | $110,435 | +$12,743 | #52 |
| 3 | Auburn Police Department | Municipal | 120 | $108,386 | +$10,694 | #57 |
| 4 | Everett Police Department | Municipal | 207 | $102,516 | +$4,824 | #81 |
| 5 | Vancouver Police Department | Municipal | 226 | $101,832 | +$4,140 | #85 |
| 6 | Kirkland Police Department | Municipal | 108 | $101,218 | +$3,526 | #92 |
| 7 | Tukwila Police Department | Municipal | 76 | $101,064 | +$3,372 | #94 |
| 8 | Mount Vernon Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $100,836 | +$3,144 | #97 |
| 9 | Edmonds Police Department | Municipal | 48 | $99,168 | +$1,476 | #108 |
| 10 | Tacoma Police Department | Municipal | 343 | $98,571 | +$879 | #111 |
| 11 | Issaquah Police Department | Municipal | 36 | $98,150 | +$458 | #114 |
| 13 | Clyde Hill Police Department | Municipal | 9 | $97,656 | −$36 | #118 |
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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