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River Falls 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.
River Falls Police Department starts at $75,525 a year — about $36.31 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $8,840 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $7,385 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Wisconsin run about 6% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $80,264 would somewhere at average prices — $4,740 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 79 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. 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 isRiver Falls Police Department reported 27 sworn officers and 3 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.5 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 18,212.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 River Falls says about itself
Our mission is to protect with courage and serve with compassion. The River Falls Police Department is committed to working in partnership with the community, providing quality police service while working towards solutions to contemporary community problems. Among its values are loyalty, demonstrating respect and support for our administration, organisation and each other; professionalism, consistently demonstrating the highest level of leadership, work ethic, appearance and demeanour; and teamwork, valuing people working together to achieve a common goal.
What River Falls does
River Falls Police Officers are sworn law-enforcement officers responsible for protecting constitutional rights, life and property, maintaining public order, arrests, investigations and emergency service.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. employer-controlled City of River Falls NEOGOV Police Officer posting — open the source document
Their source is effective 2 June 2026.
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 River Falls 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. River Falls starts at $75,525, so $7,385 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a River Falls Police Department officer make?
River Falls Police Department starts a new officer on $75,525 a year, about $36.31 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 City of River Falls NEOGOV Police Officer posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Wisconsin?
It ranks #7 of 81 agencies we have verified in Wisconsin — 74 pay less, 6 pay more in the state — and #647 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $8,840 above, and against other municipal agencies $7,385 above.
Compare with another department
Put River Falls 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 River | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Menomonee Falls Police Department | Municipal | 59 | $82,618 | +$7,093 | #414 |
| 2 | Fitchburg Police Department | Municipal | 50 | $78,790 | +$3,266 | #527 |
| 3 | Brookfield Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $78,666 | +$3,141 | #533 |
| 4 | Cedarburg Police Department | Municipal | 24 | $77,561 | +$2,036 | #571 |
| 5 | Stoughton Police Department | Municipal | 23 | $76,378 | +$853 | #607 |
| 6 | Waukesha County Sheriff's Office | County | 158 | $76,128 | +$603 | #614 |
| 8 | Wisconsin State Patrol | State | 445 | $75,462 | −$62 | #650 |
| 9 | Grafton Police Department | Municipal | 22 | $75,102 | −$423 | #672 |
| 10 | Dodge County Sheriff's Office | County | 64 | $75,088 | −$437 | #673 |
| 11 | St. Croix County Sheriff's Office | County | 98 | $74,695 | −$829 | #688 |
| 12 | Kenosha Police Department | Municipal | 231 | $74,640 | −$885 | #692 |
| 13 | Glendale Police Department | Municipal | 39 | $74,040 | −$1,485 | #715 |
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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