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Sarasota 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.
Sarasota Police Department starts at $61,006 a year — about $29.33 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $7,384 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $10,258 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL run about 2% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $59,567 somewhere at average prices — $1,440 less than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: rent at 128, where goods are 96. Based on price levels for this metropolitan 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 isSarasota Police Department reported 187 sworn officers and 61 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 3.2 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 58,428.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.
About Sarasota
The City describes Police Officer, 2nd Class as a probationary sworn position providing a variety of police activities and subject to the City's police recruitment and testing process.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. City of Sarasota official Police Officer, 2nd Class posting — open the source document
Posting dated 3 January 2023, closed to applications but live at checking; $29.33 hourly with the annual figure published as $61,006.40 for the probationary full-time officer classification.
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 Sarasota 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. Sarasota starts at $61,006, so $10,281 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Sarasota Police Department officer make?
Sarasota Police Department starts a new officer on $61,006 a year, about $29.33 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 Sarasota official Police Officer, 2nd Class posting.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Florida?
It ranks #89 of 141 agencies we have verified in Florida — 52 pay less, 88 pay more in the state — and #1,193 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $7,384 below, and against other municipal agencies $10,258 below.
Compare with another department
Put Sarasota 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 FL
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Sarasota | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boca Raton Police Services Department | Municipal | 195 | $86,674 | +$25,667 | #270 |
| 2 | Fort Lauderdale Police Department | Municipal | 565 | $81,723 | +$20,717 | #354 |
| 3 | Plantation Police Department | Municipal | 164 | $81,000 | +$19,994 | #379 |
| 4 | Pinecrest Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $80,912 | +$19,905 | #383 |
| 5 | Sunny Isles Beach Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $80,000 | +$18,994 | #411 |
| 6 | Aventura Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $78,556 | +$17,549 | #441 |
| 7 | Coral Springs Police Department | Municipal | 222 | $77,516 | +$16,510 | #470 |
| 8 | Boynton Beach Police Department | Municipal | 173 | $76,650 | +$15,644 | #490 |
| 9 | North Palm Beach Police Department | Municipal | 37 | $76,378 | +$15,371 | #497 |
| 10 | Naples Police Department | Municipal | 74 | $76,320 | +$15,314 | #501 |
| 11 | West Palm Beach Police Department | Municipal | 295 | $75,921 | +$14,915 | #524 |
| 12 | Bay Harbor Islands Police Department | Municipal | 24 | $75,836 | +$14,830 | #528 |
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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