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Southern Union State Community College 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.
Southern Union State Community College Police Department starts at $39,654 a year — about $19.06 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $28,736 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $20,541 below the median for special jurisdiction agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Alabama run about 11% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $44,644 would somewhere at average prices — $4,990 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 62 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 isSouthern Union State Community College Police Department reported 6 sworn officers and 1 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025.No rate is shown: this agency does not police a single population the FBI publishes a figure for. 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 Southern Union State Community College says about itself
The Southern Union State Community College Police Department exists to protect life and property, maintain a successful parking and traffic system, prevent crime, and be of general service to the campus community.
What Southern Union State Community College does
The Police Department protects life and property, manages traffic and parking, prevents crime and serves the campus community. Its sworn personnel take an oath to enforce Alabama, federal and local law.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 13 August 2026. $39,654 annual minimum. Official Alabama Community College System recruitment for Southern Union Campus Police Officer publishes $39,654-$47,406 annually for a law-enforcement classification enforcing laws/ordinances and protecting life/property. — open the source document
Opening July 9, 2026. $39,654 annual minimum. Official Alabama Community College System recruitment for Southern Union Campus Police Officer publishes $39,654-$47,406 annually for a law-enforcement classification enforcing laws/ordinances and protecting life/property.
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 Southern Union State Community College 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. Southern Union State Community College starts at $39,654, so $20,541 below the special jurisdiction middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Southern Union State Community College Police Department officer make?
Southern Union State Community College Police Department starts a new officer on $39,654 a year, about $19.06 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 $39,654 annual minimum. Official Alabama Community College System recruitment for Southern Union Campus Police Officer publishes $39,654-$47,406 annually for a law-enforcement classification enforcing laws/ordinances and protecting life/property..
Is that good pay for a police officer in Alabama?
It ranks #20 of 21 agencies we have verified in Alabama — 1 pay less, 19 pay more in the state — and #1,656 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $28,736 below, and against other special jurisdiction agencies $20,541 below.
Compare with another department
Put Southern Union State Community College 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 AL
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Southern | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madison Police Department | Municipal | 88 | $60,195 | +$20,541 | #1,226 |
| 2 | Huntsville Police Department | Municipal | 432 | $58,614 | +$18,960 | #1,300 |
| 3 | Shelby County Sheriff's Office | County | 147 | $57,408 | +$17,754 | #1,362 |
| 4 | Alabama Highway Patrol | State | — | $56,726 | +$17,072 | #1,376 |
| 5 | Madison County Sheriff's Office | County | 184 | $55,390 | +$15,736 | #1,415 |
| 6 | Montgomery Police Department | Municipal | 259 | $55,168 | +$15,514 | #1,420 |
| 7 | Baldwin County Sheriff's Office | County | 174 | $53,768 | +$14,114 | #1,476 |
| 8 | Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office | County | 112 | $51,888 | +$12,234 | #1,521 |
| 9 | Prattville Police Department | Municipal | 96 | $50,679 | +$11,025 | #1,544 |
| 10 | Mobile County Sheriff's Office | County | 236 | $50,526 | +$10,872 | #1,551 |
| 11 | University of Alabama at Birmingham Police Department | Special jurisdiction | — | $49,920 | +$10,266 | #1,577 |
| 12 | Fairhope Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $47,840 | +$8,186 | #1,601 |
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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