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Somerton 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.
Somerton Police Department starts at $62,712 a year — about $30.15 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $5,678 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $8,552 below the median for municipal agencies.
How big the department isSomerton Police Department reported 15 sworn officers and 14 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.0 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 15,074.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 Somerton says about itself
Through extensive training and development, while utilizing the most modern technology and equipment as possible and practical, our mission is to simply be the best police department in the region.
What Somerton does
Somerton officers provide responsive police services through patrol, investigation, calls for service, law enforcement, crime prevention and community-oriented policing.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 13 August 2026. $30.15/hour / $62,712 annual post-academy salary. Current official City Non-Certified Police Officer posting expressly states $24. — open the source document
Non-certified posting opened November 18, 2025; certified posting opened April 1, 2026 and is continuous. $30.15/hour / $62,712 annual post-academy salary. Current official City Non-Certified Police Officer posting expressly states $24.00/hour while in the academy and $30.15/hour / $62,712 annually after completion of the AZPOST-certified academy. This directly establishes the re
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 Somerton 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. Somerton starts at $62,712, so $8,575 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Somerton Police Department officer make?
Somerton Police Department starts a new officer on $62,712 a year, about $30.15 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 $30.15/hour / $62,712 annual post-academy salary. Current official City Non-Certified Police Officer posting expressly states $24..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Arizona?
It ranks #22 of 26 agencies we have verified in Arizona — 4 pay less, 21 pay more in the state — and #1,119 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $5,678 below, and against other municipal agencies $8,552 below.
Compare with another department
Put Somerton 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 Somerton | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goodyear Police Department | Municipal | 174 | $77,147 | +$14,435 | #475 |
| 2 | Phoenix Police Department | Municipal | 2,490 | $75,847 | +$13,135 | #526 |
| 3 | Queen Creek Police Department | Municipal | 132 | $74,693 | +$11,981 | #569 |
| 4 | Chandler Police Department | Municipal | 348 | $74,610 | +$11,898 | #573 |
| 5 | Mesa Police Department | Municipal | 885 | $73,972 | +$11,260 | #596 |
| 6 | Casa Grande Police Department | Municipal | 82 | $72,860 | +$10,148 | #632 |
| 7 | El Mirage Police Department | Municipal | 53 | $71,573 | +$8,861 | #693 |
| 8 | Maricopa Police Department | Municipal | 89 | $71,074 | +$8,362 | #719 |
| 9 | Flagstaff Police Department | Municipal | 107 | $68,203 | +$5,491 | #850 |
| 10 | Navajo County Sheriff's Office | County | 59 | $67,496 | +$4,784 | #892 |
| 11 | Bullhead City Police Department | Municipal | 66 | $67,038 | +$4,326 | #914 |
| 12 | Show Low Police Department | Municipal | 34 | $66,581 | +$3,869 | #943 |
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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