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San Antonio 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.
San Antonio Police Department starts at $65,436 a year — about $31.46 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $1,249 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $2,704 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Texas run about 3% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $67,420 would somewhere at average prices — $1,984 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 88, where goods are 98. 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 isSan Antonio Police Department reported 2,597 sworn officers and 644 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.7 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 1,549,306.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 San Antonio says about itself
The San Antonio Police Department is dedicated to improving the quality of life by creating a safe environment in partnership with the people we serve. We act with integrity to reduce fear and crime while treating all with respect, compassion and fairness. Its vision is to be the premier law enforcement agency by building trust, creating partnerships, and sharing leadership within the department and the community for a safer San Antonio.
What San Antonio does
San Antonio Police Department officers are appointed to a cadet class at the SAPD Training Academy and draw a full salary and benefits throughout training, rather than paying their own way as at some academies. Texas sets a minimum of 643 training hours for TCOLE peace officer certification; the SAPD academy runs well beyond that. After graduating, cadets complete field training and then a probationary period as patrol officers, and all officers begin their careers in the Patrol Division. Base pay is supplemented by peace officer certification pay from $50 a month at basic level to $265 for field training officers, educational incentive pay from $60 a month for college hours up to $350 for a doctorate, and bilingual pay.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 18 August 2026. Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City of San Antonio and the San Antonio Police Officers' Association, Attachment 2 (Wages), scale E effective 1 April 2026 — open the source document
Attachment 2 sets five monthly wage scales over the life of the agreement. The scale effective 1 APRIL 2026 puts Police Officer step A at $5,453 a month, so $65,436 a year. Step A is the entry step for a sworn Police Officer; Cadet is a separate classification paid during the academy. THIS SETTLES A CONFLICT BETWEEN TWO PUBLISHED FIGURES, AND NEITHER WAS CURRENT: the City's SAPD careers page shows $58,452, which is $4,871 x 12, the scale effective 1 April 2023; the police association told local media in January 2026 that starting pay was $62,916, which is $5,243 x 12, the scale effective 1 April 2025 and correct on the day they said it. Both are step A, read off different years. The full step A ladder: $4,706 from Oct 2022, $4,871 Apr 2023, $5,041 Apr 2024, $5,243 Apr 2025, $5,453 Apr 2026. Excluded as add-ons: peace officer certification pay, educational incentive pay, bilingual pay, longevity and shift differential.
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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Entry pay, 2022–2026
Every point is the entry-class annual base printed in the agency’s own pay document. Base pay only — no shift differential, incentives or allowances.
How this level compares
Where San Antonio 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. San Antonio starts at $65,436, so $2,704 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a San Antonio Police Department officer make?
San Antonio Police Department starts a new officer on $65,436 a year, about $31.46 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 Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City of San Antonio and the San Antonio Police Officers' Association, Attachment 2 (Wages), scale E effective 1 April 2026.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Texas?
It ranks #105 of 151 agencies we have verified in Texas — 46 pay less, 104 pay more in the state — and #1,223 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $1,249 below, and against other municipal agencies $2,704 below.
Compare with another department
Put San Antonio 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 TX
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs San | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Police Department | Municipal | 153 | $91,106 | +$25,670 | #241 |
| 2 | Frisco Police Department | Municipal | 270 | $90,750 | +$25,314 | #252 |
| 3 | Plano Police Department | Municipal | 400 | $90,729 | +$25,293 | #253 |
| 4 | Grand Prairie Police Department | Municipal | 287 | $90,000 | +$24,564 | #270 |
| 5 | Hurst Police Department | Municipal | 61 | $87,048 | +$21,612 | #322 |
| 6 | Lewisville Police Department | Municipal | 181 | $86,268 | +$20,832 | #335 |
| 7 | Coppell Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $84,968 | +$19,532 | #355 |
| 8 | Rockwall Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $84,448 | +$19,012 | #362 |
| 9 | Farmers Branch Police Department | Municipal | 83 | $84,440 | +$19,004 | #363 |
| 10 | The Colony Police Department | Municipal | 86 | $84,082 | +$18,646 | #371 |
| 11 | Baytown Police Department | Municipal | 172 | $84,049 | +$18,613 | #372 |
| 12 | McKinney Police Department | Municipal | 248 | $83,992 | +$18,556 | #374 |
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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