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Rockford 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.
Rockford Police Department starts at $70,958 a year — about $34.11 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $2,568 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $306 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Rockford, IL run about 8% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $76,999 would somewhere at average prices — $6,041 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 70 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. 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 isRockford Police Department reported 276 sworn officers and 43 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.9 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 147,186.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 Rockford says about itself
Rockford Police Department members are committed to reducing crime and enhancing the quality of life through an active partnership with our community.
What Rockford does
Rockford Police Department says its members are dedicated to protecting lives and property by reducing crime and building relationships that cultivate prosperity. Its official values framework emphasizes vigilance, accountability, loyalty, unity, ethics and service, while its vision commits to making Rockford a safe community in which to live, work and flourish
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Rockford official Polic — open the source document
Current official sworn Police Officer specification verified 8 August 2026; starting salary $70,958; academy is part of the
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 Rockford 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. Rockford starts at $70,958, so $329 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Rockford Police Department officer make?
Rockford Police Department starts a new officer on $70,958 a year, about $34.11 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 Rockford official Polic.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Illinois?
It ranks #28 of 35 agencies we have verified in Illinois — 7 pay less, 27 pay more in the state — and #726 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $2,568 above, and against other municipal agencies $306 below.
Compare with another department
Put Rockford 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 IL
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Rockford | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vernon Hills Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $94,460 | +$23,502 | #151 |
| 2 | Wilmette Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $93,156 | +$22,198 | #165 |
| 3 | Aurora Police Department | Municipal | 328 | $92,248 | +$21,290 | #176 |
| 4 | Des Plaines Police Department | Municipal | 97 | $91,440 | +$20,482 | #186 |
| 5 | Highland Park Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $91,158 | +$20,200 | #191 |
| 6 | Illinois State Police | State | 1,821 | $90,828 | +$19,870 | #199 |
| 7 | River Forest Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $90,106 | +$19,148 | #213 |
| 8 | Elgin Police Department | Municipal | 203 | $88,274 | +$17,316 | #245 |
| 9 | Lake County Sheriff's Office | County | 113 | $87,297 | +$16,339 | #259 |
| 10 | Woodridge Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $84,781 | +$13,823 | #294 |
| 11 | DeKalb Police Department | Municipal | 72 | $83,449 | +$12,491 | #326 |
| 12 | Rolling Meadows Police Department | Municipal | 49 | $81,439 | +$10,481 | #362 |
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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