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Scottsdale 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.
Scottsdale Police Department starts at $81,474 a year — about $39.17 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $14,789 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $13,334 above the median for municipal agencies.
How big the department isScottsdale Police Department reported 391 sworn officers and 229 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.6 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 247,258.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 Scottsdale says about itself
Through our collective dedication to provide transparent, responsive public service, we've helped maintain Scottsdale's consistent ranking among the nation's safest communities.
What Scottsdale does
The Scottsdale Police Department is the municipal law enforcement agency for the City of Scottsdale, Arizona, serving a city of roughly 240,000 residents.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 18 September 2026. City of Scottsdale Police Officer careers/pay-scale page, Police Officer starting rate on certification — open the source document
Current page verified 18 September 2026; Police Officer starting rate on academy completion and certification.
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 Scottsdale 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. Scottsdale starts at $81,474, so $13,334 above the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Scottsdale Police Department officer make?
Scottsdale Police Department starts a new officer on $81,474 a year, about $39.17 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 Scottsdale Police Officer careers/pay-scale page, Police Officer starting rate on certification.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Arizona?
It ranks #1 of 36 agencies we have verified in Arizona — the highest in the state in the state — and #440 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $14,789 above, and against other municipal agencies $13,334 above.
Compare with another department
Put Scottsdale 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 AZ
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Scottsdale | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Tempe Police Department | Municipal | 353 | $79,977 | −$1,497 | #497 |
| 3 | Goodyear Police Department | Municipal | 174 | $77,147 | −$4,327 | #580 |
| 4 | Buckeye Police Department | Municipal | 133 | $76,003 | −$5,471 | #626 |
| 5 | Phoenix Police Department | Municipal | 2,490 | $75,847 | −$5,627 | #637 |
| 6 | Queen Creek Police Department | Municipal | 132 | $74,693 | −$6,781 | #689 |
| 7 | Chandler Police Department | Municipal | 348 | $74,610 | −$6,864 | #693 |
| 8 | Surprise Police Department | Municipal | 179 | $74,214 | −$7,259 | #707 |
| 9 | Peoria Police Department | Municipal | 234 | $74,194 | −$7,280 | #708 |
| 10 | Mesa Police Department | Municipal | 885 | $73,972 | −$7,502 | #720 |
| 11 | Glendale Police Department | Municipal | 406 | $73,389 | −$8,084 | #742 |
| 12 | Casa Grande Police Department | Municipal | 82 | $72,860 | −$8,614 | #768 |
| 13 | Gilbert Police Department | Municipal | 310 | $71,906 | −$9,568 | #818 |
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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