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Sandy Springs 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.
Sandy Springs Police Department starts at $71,686 a year — about $34.46 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $3,296 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $422 above the median for municipal agencies.
How big the department isSandy Springs Police Department reported 149 sworn officers and 26 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.4 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 104,987.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 Sandy Springs says about itself
Our mission is “To Prevent Crime and Enforce Law through Problem Solving Partnerships.” Our first priority is to prevent crime and protect our citizens.
What Sandy Springs does
Sandy Springs says its officers share a desire to make an impact and a difference every day and serve a community that embraces its police force. The department emphasizes teamwork, respect, retention, and career growth.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. City of Sandy Springs 2026 Pay Plan and Job Classification — open the source document
Their source is effective 10 August 2026.
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 Sandy Springs 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. Sandy Springs starts at $71,686, so $399 above the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Sandy Springs Police Department officer make?
Sandy Springs Police Department starts a new officer on $71,686 a year, about $34.46 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 City of Sandy Springs 2026 Pay Plan and Job Classification.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Georgia?
It ranks #1 of 25 agencies we have verified in Georgia — the highest in the state in the state — and #687 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $3,296 above, and against other municipal agencies $422 above.
Compare with another department
Put Sandy Springs 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 GA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Sandy | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Georgia Bureau of Investigation | State | 338 | $64,977 | −$6,710 | #1,027 |
| 3 | Georgia State Patrol | State | — | $63,684 | −$8,002 | #1,072 |
| 4 | South Fulton Police Department | Municipal | 213 | $63,440 | −$8,246 | #1,086 |
| 5 | Roswell Police Department | Municipal | 154 | $62,462 | −$9,224 | #1,135 |
| 6 | Savannah Police Department | Municipal | 425 | $61,989 | −$9,697 | #1,156 |
| 7 | Alpharetta Police Department | Municipal | 105 | $61,100 | −$10,586 | #1,190 |
| 8 | Atlanta Police Department | Municipal | 1,817 | $60,987 | −$10,699 | #1,196 |
| 9 | Snellville Police Department | Municipal | 50 | $60,905 | −$10,781 | #1,199 |
| 10 | Fulton County Sheriff's Office | County | 349 | $60,000 | −$11,686 | #1,240 |
| 11 | Fulton County Police Department | Municipal | 349 | $60,000 | −$11,686 | #1,249 |
| 12 | Athens-Clarke County Police Department | Municipal | 235 | $59,287 | −$12,399 | #1,275 |
| 13 | DeKalb County Sheriff's Office | County | 306 | $57,919 | −$13,767 | #1,327 |
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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