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Ruidoso 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.
Ruidoso Police Department starts at $50,336 a year — about $24.20 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $18,054 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $20,928 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 $54,587 would somewhere at average prices — $4,251 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 isRuidoso Police Department reported 12 sworn officers and 12 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.6 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 7,626.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 Ruidoso says about itself
The Ruidoso Police Department is committed to serving the community while protecting the rights and property of its residents and visitors.
What Ruidoso does
Ruidoso officers patrol assigned shifts to preserve law and order, prevent crime and enforce state and municipal law.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 13 August 2026. $50,336 annually certified Police Officer minimum. Current official Village Police Officer Certified recruitment publishes $50,336-$92,123. — open the source document
Both current recruitments opened February 20, 2026. $50,336 annually certified Police Officer minimum. Current official Village Police Officer Certified recruitment publishes $50,336-$92,123.20 annually. The Village separately maintains a non-certified academy classification; the certified minimum is therefore retained as 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 Ruidoso 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. Ruidoso starts at $50,336, so $20,951 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Ruidoso Police Department officer make?
Ruidoso Police Department starts a new officer on $50,336 a year, about $24.20 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 $50,336 annually certified Police Officer minimum. Current official Village Police Officer Certified recruitment publishes $50,336-$92,123..
Is that good pay for a police officer in New Mexico?
It ranks #12 of 13 agencies we have verified in New Mexico — 1 pay less, 11 pay more in the state — and #1,557 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $18,054 below, and against other municipal agencies $20,928 below.
Compare with another department
Put Ruidoso 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 Ruidoso | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Fe Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,046 | +$24,710 | #557 |
| 2 | New Mexico State Police | State | 1,174 | $70,845 | +$20,509 | #734 |
| 3 | Albuquerque Police Department | Municipal | 966 | $65,499 | +$15,163 | #991 |
| 4 | San Juan County Sheriff's Office | County | 86 | $63,045 | +$12,709 | #1,109 |
| 5 | Valencia County Sheriff's Office | County | 48 | $62,150 | +$11,814 | #1,149 |
| 6 | Carlsbad Police Department | Municipal | 57 | $59,842 | +$9,506 | #1,255 |
| 7 | McKinley County Sheriff's Office | County | 37 | $59,675 | +$9,339 | #1,263 |
| 8 | Los Lunas Police Department | Municipal | — | $59,212 | +$8,876 | #1,279 |
| 9 | Chaves County Sheriff's Office | County | 33 | $56,264 | +$5,928 | #1,389 |
| 10 | Las Cruces Police Department | Municipal | 200 | $54,080 | +$3,744 | #1,466 |
| 11 | Rio Rancho Police Department | Municipal | 134 | $52,000 | +$1,664 | #1,515 |
| 13 | Grant County Sheriff's Office | County | — | $49,691 | −$645 | #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.
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