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South Salt Lake 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 Salt Lake Police Department starts at $66,997 a year — about $32.21 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $312 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $1,143 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Utah run about 1% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $67,767 would somewhere at average prices — $770 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 79, 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 Salt Lake Police Department reported 71 sworn officers and 18 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.7 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 26,527.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 Salt Lake says about itself
It is the mission of the South Salt Lake Police Department to enhance the quality of life in our city by providing quality police services. We are dedicated to upholding the highest professional standards while serving the community.
What South Salt Lake does
South Salt Lake Police Department advances officers to Police Officer 2 after four years of service, and staffs civilian roles alongside its sworn ranks including crime analysts, evidence technicians, records technicians and victim advocates
Where the figure comes from
Checked 21 August 2026. City of South Salt Lake official “Join Our Team” page, Police Officer pay — open the source document
$66,996.80. The city's own page states “Officer hourly pay starts at $32.21 and tops out at $49.58 an hour”; $32.21 x 2,080 = $66,996.80. **STARTS AT is the city's own phrasing — a stated entry rate, not a band floor.** NO PRIOR SERVICE IS REQUIRED THREE WAYS: the department runs a **separate posting titled ENTRY LEVEL POLICE OFFICER** (casellehire 292053) apart from Police Officer - Lateral (198041) and Lateral Detective (306290); it has **sponsored non-certified candidates through the POST class outright**; and lateral pay is handled on its own terms — “Years of service for lateral officers will be assessed and credited for previous years of law enforcement experience.” LADDER: after **four years** with SSLPD an officer is eligible to advance to Police Officer 2, which starts at $39.82 and tops out at $52.40. SOURCING NOTE: **sslc.gov is robots-blocked to the fetcher**, so the wording above comes from the indexed text of the city's own Join Our Team page. **THIS ROW REVERSES AN EARLIER “nothing published” FINDING OF MINE** — I searched sslc.gov in batch 2 and surfaced only FAQ pages, and wrote South Salt Lake off. The pay was on the department's own recruiting page all along. Vacation accrues at 4 hours a month, rising an hour a month per 5 years of service; sick leave 4 hours a pay period; department vehicle available for work travel and to a fitness facility.
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.
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How this level compares
Where South Salt Lake 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 Salt Lake starts at $66,997, so $1,143 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a South Salt Lake Police Department officer make?
South Salt Lake Police Department starts a new officer on $66,997 a year, about $32.21 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 South Salt Lake official “Join Our Team” page, Police Officer pay.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Utah?
It ranks #10 of 31 agencies we have verified in Utah — 21 pay less, 9 pay more in the state — and #1,120 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $312 above, and against other municipal agencies $1,143 below.
Compare with another department
Put South Salt Lake 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 UT
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs South | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salt Lake City Police Department | Municipal | 589 | $76,315 | +$9,318 | #612 |
| 2 | Santa Clara Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,982 | +$8,986 | #629 |
| 3 | Taylorsville Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,941 | +$8,944 | #634 |
| 4 | Utah Highway Patrol | State | 536 | $75,878 | +$8,882 | #636 |
| 5 | Sandy Police Department | Municipal | 115 | $73,112 | +$6,115 | #753 |
| 6 | West Valley City Police Department | Municipal | — | $73,045 | +$6,048 | #757 |
| 7 | Cottonwood Heights Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $69,763 | +$2,766 | #958 |
| 8 | Murray City Police Department | Municipal | 82 | $68,890 | +$1,893 | #1,000 |
| 9 | Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake | Municipal | — | $68,099 | +$1,102 | #1,050 |
| 11 | Orem Police Department | Municipal | 94 | $66,768 | −$229 | #1,137 |
| 12 | Moab Police Department | Municipal | 19 | $66,747 | −$250 | #1,143 |
| 13 | South Jordan Police Department | Municipal | 69 | $66,435 | −$562 | #1,164 |
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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