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Salem 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.
Salem Police Department starts at $55,000 a year — about $26.44 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $13,390 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $16,264 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Virginia run about 1% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $54,399 somewhere at average prices — $601 less than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 92, where goods are 100. 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 isSalem Police Department reported 63 sworn officers and 25 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.4 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 26,107.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 Salem says about itself
The mission of the City of Salem Police Department is to provide the public with the highest quality of service within our community.
What Salem does
The City of Salem Police Department states its mission as providing the public with the highest quality of service within the community.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 13 August 2026. $55,000 annual starting base pay. Current official Apply Now and Compensation pages publish $55,000 starting/base salary for full-time Police Officer. — open the source document
$55,000 annual starting base pay. Current official Apply Now and Compensation pages publish $55,000 starting/base salary for full-time Police Officer.
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 Salem 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. Salem starts at $55,000, so $16,287 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Salem Police Department officer make?
Salem Police Department starts a new officer on $55,000 a year, about $26.44 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 $55,000 annual starting base pay. Current official Apply Now and Compensation pages publish $55,000 starting/base salary for full-time Police Officer..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Virginia?
It ranks #27 of 36 agencies we have verified in Virginia — 9 pay less, 26 pay more in the state — and #1,435 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $13,390 below, and against other municipal agencies $16,264 below.
Compare with another department
Put Salem 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 VA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Salem | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arlington County Police Department | County | 299 | $90,012 | +$35,012 | #215 |
| 2 | Falls Church Police Department | Municipal | 32 | $76,400 | +$21,400 | #496 |
| 3 | Alexandria Police Department | Municipal | 264 | $75,000 | +$20,000 | #560 |
| 4 | Fairfax County Police Department | County | 1,390 | $74,035 | +$19,035 | #593 |
| 5 | Prince William County Police Department | County | 656 | $74,000 | +$19,000 | #595 |
| 6 | Loudoun County Sheriff's Office | County | 648 | $70,955 | +$15,955 | #727 |
| 7 | Leesburg Police Department | Municipal | 74 | $68,500 | +$13,500 | #834 |
| 8 | Prince William County Sheriff's Office | County | 656 | $66,596 | +$11,596 | #941 |
| 9 | Henrico County Police Division | County | 628 | $65,959 | +$10,959 | #968 |
| 10 | Fairfax County Sheriff's Office | County | 433 | $64,997 | +$9,997 | #1,025 |
| 11 | Richmond Police Department | Municipal | 608 | $63,360 | +$8,360 | #1,091 |
| 12 | Hanover County Sheriff's Office | County | 247 | $63,345 | +$8,345 | #1,093 |
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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