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South Bend 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.
South Bend Police Department starts at $80,240 a year — about $38.58 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $12,973 above the median of the 2,053 agencies on this list, and $11,454 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Indiana run about 7% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $85,975 would somewhere at average prices — $5,735 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 74 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. 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 isSouth Bend Police Department reported 246 sworn officers and 61 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.4 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 103,804.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 South Bend
The South Bend Police Department serves South Bend, Indiana, and is led by Chief Scott Ruszkowski, who became the department's 62nd police chief on 1 October 2015.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 18 September 2026. South Bend Police Department "Start a Career" recruiting page, official department site — open the source document
Stated as "The 2026 salary" for a PFC (patrolman-first-class entry rank); plus shift incentives (amount not specified on the page). No FOP contract document was located to corroborate.
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 South Bend 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 | $68,786 | $163,619 | 1372 |
| County | $35,000 | $64,438 | $132,263 | 459 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,204 | $107,954 | 71 |
| State | $33,994 | $65,400 | $110,916 | 144 |
| 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 $4,700 more than the middle municipal agency and about $9,100 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,100 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. South Bend starts at $80,240, so $11,454 above the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a South Bend Police Department officer make?
South Bend Police Department starts a new officer on $80,240 a year, about $38.58 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 South Bend Police Department "Start a Career" recruiting page, official department site.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Indiana?
It ranks #2 of 43 agencies we have verified in Indiana — 41 pay less, 1 pay more in the state — and #444 of 2,053 nationally. Against the national median it is $12,973 above, and against other municipal agencies $11,454 above.
Compare with another department
Put South Bend 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 IN
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs South | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bloomington Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $81,234 | +$994 | #409 |
| 3 | MSD Wayne Township School Police Department | Special jurisdiction | — | $77,700 | −$2,540 | #517 |
| 4 | Columbus Police Department | Municipal | 88 | $74,984 | −$5,256 | #626 |
| 5 | Fishers Police Department | Municipal | 124 | $74,560 | −$5,680 | #640 |
| 6 | Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department | Municipal | — | $74,459 | −$5,781 | #646 |
| 7 | Fort Wayne Police Department | Municipal | 503 | $73,449 | −$6,791 | #681 |
| 8 | Lafayette Police Department | Municipal | 142 | $72,539 | −$7,701 | #723 |
| 9 | West Lafayette Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $72,391 | −$7,849 | #728 |
| 10 | Purdue University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | — | $72,137 | −$8,103 | #738 |
| 11 | Carmel Police Department | Municipal | 147 | $72,000 | −$8,240 | #747 |
| 12 | Indiana State Police | State | 1,171 | $70,000 | −$10,240 | #861 |
| 13 | Indiana Gaming Commission — Enforcement Division | State | — | $70,000 | −$10,240 | #862 |
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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