Home › Police pay › New Mexico › Rio Rancho Police Department
Rio Rancho 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.
Rio Rancho Police Department starts at $52,000 a year — about $25.00 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $16,390 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $19,264 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in New Mexico run about 8% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $56,392 would somewhere at average prices — $4,392 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.
How big the department isRio Rancho Police Department reported 134 sworn officers and 53 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.2 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 114,641.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 Rio Rancho says about itself
RRPD is committed to hiring quality personnel, providing ongoing training, and equipping our personnel with what they need to solve community problems.
What Rio Rancho does
Rio Rancho Police Officers enforce municipal, state and federal laws; patrol assigned beats; protect life and property; prevent crime; maintain order; investigate crimes, crashes and disturbances; direct traffic; make arrests; testify in court; serve warrants and subpoenas; and assist the public and other agencies
Where the figure comes from
Checked 9 August 2026. City of Rio Rancho official Police O — open the source document
Current City class specification verified 9 August 2026; Police Officer salary begins at $52,000 annually. Prior law-enforcement experience is listed only as preferred, not required, and the City gives a new hire time to successfully complete the Law Enforcement Academy and obtain New Mexico certification. Higher steps and add-ons are excluded
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.
BlueShifts. Plan Your Year. Own Your Time.
The shift calendar built for your rotation, off-duty work, and life on and off the clock.
Save your shift schedule once and BlueShifts fills the rest of the year in.
How this level compares
Where Rio Rancho 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. Rio Rancho starts at $52,000, so $19,287 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Rio Rancho Police Department officer make?
Rio Rancho Police Department starts a new officer on $52,000 a year, about $25.00 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 Rio Rancho official Police O.
Is that good pay for a police officer in New Mexico?
It ranks #11 of 13 agencies we have verified in New Mexico — 2 pay less, 10 pay more in the state — and #1,515 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $16,390 below, and against other municipal agencies $19,264 below.
Compare with another department
Put Rio Rancho 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 NM
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Rio | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Fe Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,046 | +$23,046 | #557 |
| 2 | New Mexico State Police | State | 1,174 | $70,845 | +$18,845 | #734 |
| 3 | Albuquerque Police Department | Municipal | 966 | $65,499 | +$13,499 | #991 |
| 4 | San Juan County Sheriff's Office | County | 86 | $63,045 | +$11,045 | #1,109 |
| 5 | Valencia County Sheriff's Office | County | 48 | $62,150 | +$10,150 | #1,149 |
| 6 | Carlsbad Police Department | Municipal | 57 | $59,842 | +$7,842 | #1,255 |
| 7 | McKinley County Sheriff's Office | County | 37 | $59,675 | +$7,675 | #1,263 |
| 8 | Los Lunas Police Department | Municipal | — | $59,212 | +$7,212 | #1,279 |
| 9 | Chaves County Sheriff's Office | County | 33 | $56,264 | +$4,264 | #1,389 |
| 10 | Las Cruces Police Department | Municipal | 200 | $54,080 | +$2,080 | #1,466 |
| 12 | Ruidoso Police Department | Municipal | 12 | $50,336 | −$1,664 | #1,557 |
| 13 | Grant County Sheriff's Office | County | — | $49,691 | −$2,309 | #1,578 |
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.
Scan to install
