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Saint Paul 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.
Saint Paul Police Department starts at $91,291 a year — about $43.89 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $22,901 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $20,027 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Minnesota run about 1% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $92,568 would somewhere at average prices — $1,277 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 91, where goods are 101. 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 isSaint Paul Police Department reported 562 sworn officers and 162 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.8 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 307,657.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 Saint Paul says about itself
The Saint Paul Police Department is committed to providing Trusted Service with Respect. We seek to become an outstanding employer and partner engaged with our employees and the diverse communities that we serve. We strive to contribute to Saint Paul's vitality and prosperity by promoting safety and security with technical excellence, leadership and comprehensive professionalism.
What Saint Paul does
Saint Paul Police Department polices Minnesota's capital from a headquarters complex on Grove Street, and is the older of the Twin Cities forces. It works through a chief, an assistant chief and deputy chiefs commanding four broad areas: operations, holding the patrol districts, the watch commander and the canine unit; major crime investigation, covering homicide and robbery, family and sexual violence, gangs, narcotics and vice, and special investigations; community engagement, which takes in training, recruitment, youth outreach, traffic and pedestrian safety, and officer health and wellness; and support and administration, running forensic services, property and evidence, the impound lot, backgrounds, special operations, SWAT and mobile field force.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Saint Paul of — open the source document
Opened 13 March 2026; official 2026 minimum $43.89/hour = $91,291.20
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 Saint Paul 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. Saint Paul starts at $91,291, so $20,004 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Saint Paul Police Department officer make?
Saint Paul Police Department starts a new officer on $91,291 a year, about $43.89 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 Saint Paul of.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Minnesota?
It ranks #11 of 100 agencies we have verified in Minnesota — 89 pay less, 10 pay more in the state — and #188 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $22,901 above, and against other municipal agencies $20,027 above.
Compare with another department
Put Saint Paul 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 MN
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Saint | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blaine Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $101,733 | +$10,442 | #86 |
| 2 | Stillwater Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $94,328 | +$3,037 | #152 |
| 3 | Columbia Heights Police Department | Municipal | 29 | $93,725 | +$2,434 | #157 |
| 4 | Carver County Sheriff's Office | County | 77 | $93,683 | +$2,392 | #158 |
| 5 | Oakdale Police Department | Municipal | 39 | $93,538 | +$2,246 | #161 |
| 6 | Richfield Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $93,226 | +$1,934 | #163 |
| 7 | Maplewood Police Department | Municipal | 56 | $93,038 | +$1,747 | #167 |
| 8 | Forest Lake Police Department | Municipal | 20 | $92,789 | +$1,498 | #169 |
| 9 | Apple Valley Police Department | Municipal | 59 | $92,768 | +$1,477 | #170 |
| 10 | Coon Rapids Police Department | Municipal | 73 | $92,123 | +$832 | #179 |
| 12 | Woodbury Police Department | Municipal | 80 | $91,187 | −$104 | #190 |
| 13 | Sherburne County Sheriff's Office | County | 89 | $90,834 | −$458 | #198 |
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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