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Rhode Island Capitol Police 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.
Rhode Island Capitol Police starts at $61,460 a year — about $29.55 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $5,225 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $3,706 below the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Rhode Island run about 2% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $60,090 somewhere at average prices — $1,370 less than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 147, where goods are 97. 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 Rhode Island Capitol says about itself
The mission of the Rhode Island Capitol Police is to provide basic protection for life and property, enforce all laws and ordinances, maintain order at demonstrations and public events, prevent and repress crime, detect violations of the law, and apprehend violators at the Rhode Island State Capitol and annexes, properties contained therein, and the other state buildings, grounds and premises where they maintain security responsibilities.
What Rhode Island Capitol does
Rhode Island Capitol Police protect and provide police services and security at the State Capitol, annexes, adjacent state buildings, grounds, and designated state properties. Officers maintain order, protect the public and employees, patrol facilities, make arrests when necessary, and coordinate with other law-enforcement agencies.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. employer-controlled State of Rhode Island NEOGOV posting — open the source document
Their source is effective 25 April 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.
How this level compares
Where Rhode Island Capitol 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 | $33,280 | $68,140 | $163,619 | 1549 |
| County | $35,000 | $63,565 | $132,263 | 516 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,204 | $107,954 | 71 |
| State | $33,994 | $65,166 | $110,916 | 145 |
| 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 $5,400 more than the middle municipal agency and about $9,900 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,300 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. Rhode Island Capitol starts at $61,460, so $3,706 below the state middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Rhode Island Capitol Police officer make?
Rhode Island Capitol Police starts a new officer on $61,460 a year, about $29.55 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-controlled State of Rhode Island NEOGOV posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Rhode Island?
It ranks #16 of 17 agencies we have verified in Rhode Island — 1 pay less, 15 pay more in the state — and #1,476 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $5,225 below, and against other state agencies $3,706 below.
Compare with another department
Put Rhode Island Capitol Police 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 RI
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Rhode | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management — Division of Law Enforcement / Environmental Police | State | 32 | $90,850 | +$29,390 | #249 |
| 2 | Smithfield Police Department | Municipal | 46 | $82,885 | +$21,425 | #407 |
| 3 | Rhode Island State Police | State | 267 | $81,579 | +$20,119 | #437 |
| 4 | Providence Police Department | Municipal | 435 | $81,468 | +$20,008 | #441 |
| 5 | North Providence Police Department | Municipal | — | $71,787 | +$10,327 | #829 |
| 6 | Burrillville Police Department | Municipal | 24 | $70,484 | +$9,024 | #908 |
| 7 | East Providence Police Department | Municipal | 86 | $69,155 | +$7,695 | #983 |
| 8 | Lincoln Police Department | Municipal | 40 | $69,000 | +$7,540 | #991 |
| 9 | Pawtucket Police Department | Municipal | 145 | $66,402 | +$4,942 | #1,167 |
| 10 | Warwick Police Department | Municipal | 169 | $65,739 | +$4,279 | #1,204 |
| 11 | North Kingstown Police Department | Municipal | — | $65,012 | +$3,552 | #1,255 |
| 12 | Portsmouth Police Department | Municipal | 39 | $64,358 | +$2,898 | #1,297 |
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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