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South Daytona 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 Daytona Police Department starts at $54,000 a year — about $25.96 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $12,685 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $14,140 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Florida run about 3% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $52,217 somewhere at average prices — $1,783 less than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 122 against a national average of 100, where goods are 98. 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 Daytona Police Department reported 24 sworn officers and 2 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.7 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 14,149.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 South Daytona says about itself
The South Daytona Police Department has been part of the city's story since its earliest days, providing dedicated law enforcement to a flourishing community. Through the decades, the Police Department has continued to evolve, always working to build trust and strengthen its connection with the community.
What South Daytona does
The South Daytona Police Department is the municipal force for the City of South Daytona in Volusia County, between Daytona Beach and Port Orange on the Halifax River. It is accredited by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation, runs patrol, investigation and administration divisions with community service officers handling animal control and parking, and has been part of the city since its earliest days, with a line of chiefs running back to Roy Wilson in 1940.
Shifts at South Daytona
South Daytona's agreement sets a work period of 84 hours in two weeks (Article 23.1), and officers work twelve-hour shifts that rotate every four months.
The agency publishes the shift length but not a named cycle. These are the 12-hour rotations departments most often build on it: Pitman, 4 on, 4 off, DuPont, Panama, 3-4-4-3.
A rotation that turns over three times a year is three rebuilds on paper and one setting change in BlueShifts. The 84-hour fortnight is the period the department pays on, and the app counts against that rather than a flat week.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 31 August 2026. Entry minimum salary, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Agency Profile Report, Police Department Salary 2025. — open the source document
Their source is effective 1 January 2025.
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.
BlueShifts. Plan Your Year. Own Your Time.
The shift calendar built for your rotation, off-duty work, and life on and off the clock.
Save your shift schedule once and BlueShifts fills the rest of the year in.
How this level compares
Where South Daytona 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. South Daytona starts at $54,000, so $14,140 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a South Daytona Police Department officer make?
South Daytona Police Department starts a new officer on $54,000 a year, about $25.96 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 Entry minimum salary, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Agency Profile Report, Police Department Salary 2025..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Florida?
It ranks #213 of 303 agencies we have verified in Florida — 90 pay less, 212 pay more in the state — and #1,915 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $12,685 below, and against other municipal agencies $14,140 below.
What shifts do South Daytona Police Department officers work?
South Daytona's agreement sets a work period of 84 hours in two weeks (Article 23.1), and officers work twelve-hour shifts that rotate every four months. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put South Daytona 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 South | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boca Raton Police Services Department | Municipal | 195 | $91,007 | +$37,007 | #244 |
| 2 | Fort Lauderdale Police Department | Municipal | 565 | $81,723 | +$27,723 | #433 |
| 3 | Plantation Police Department | Municipal | 164 | $81,000 | +$27,000 | #459 |
| 4 | Hillsboro Beach Police Department | Municipal | 15 | $80,954 | +$26,954 | #461 |
| 5 | Pinecrest Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $80,912 | +$26,912 | #464 |
| 6 | Sunny Isles Beach Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $80,000 | +$26,000 | #496 |
| 7 | Indian Creek Village Public Safety Department | Municipal | 10 | $79,850 | +$25,850 | #500 |
| 8 | Sunrise Police Department | Municipal | 190 | $79,071 | +$25,071 | #520 |
| 9 | Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office | County | 1,720 | $78,828 | +$24,828 | #526 |
| 10 | Aventura Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $78,556 | +$24,556 | #536 |
| 11 | Longboat Key Police Department | Municipal | 19 | $78,430 | +$24,430 | #543 |
| 12 | Manalapan Police Department | Municipal | 13 | $78,280 | +$24,280 | #549 |
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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