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Springfield 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.
Springfield Police Department starts at $82,783 a year — about $39.80 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $16,098 above the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $14,643 above the median for municipal agencies.
How big the department isSpringfield Police Department reported 246 sworn officers and 27 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.2 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 112,595.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 Springfield says about itself
The Field Operations Division is the largest and most visible division within the Springfield Police Department. The service, pride, and dedication of approximately 140 patrol officers, nineteen sergeants, six lieutenants, and five civilian support staff are essential to the day-to-day operation of the department.
What Springfield does
The Springfield Police Department's Field Operations Division, its largest and most visible division, fields roughly 140 patrol officers, 19 sergeants, 6 lieutenants and 5 civilian staff, operating four overlapping shifts to provide police service 24/7/365 to Springfield, Illinois.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 18 September 2026. Springfield Police Department (IL) official "Become a Police Officer" recruitment page — open the source document
Effective 1 March 2025; probationary first-year rate, rising to $87,652.17 (2nd year) and $92,521.73 (3rd year), then to the full Patrol Officer rate of $97,391.30. First-year officers also receive bonus compensatory hours equivalent to $6,000. The city notes this is subject to change pending an ongoing labor agreement with the Police Benevolent and Protective Association (PBPA).
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 Springfield 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. Springfield starts at $82,783, so $14,643 above the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Springfield Police Department officer make?
Springfield Police Department starts a new officer on $82,783 a year, about $39.80 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 Springfield Police Department (IL) official "Become a Police Officer" recruitment page.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Illinois?
It ranks #17 of 43 agencies we have verified in Illinois — 26 pay less, 16 pay more in the state — and #409 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $16,098 above, and against other municipal agencies $14,643 above.
Compare with another department
Put Springfield 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 IL
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Springfield | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vernon Hills Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $94,460 | +$11,677 | #192 |
| 2 | Wilmette Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $93,156 | +$10,373 | #207 |
| 3 | Oak Park Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $92,716 | +$9,933 | #214 |
| 4 | Skokie Police Department | Municipal | 102 | $92,405 | +$9,622 | #219 |
| 5 | Aurora Police Department | Municipal | 328 | $92,248 | +$9,465 | #223 |
| 6 | Des Plaines Police Department | Municipal | 97 | $91,440 | +$8,657 | #235 |
| 7 | Highland Park Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $91,158 | +$8,376 | #240 |
| 8 | Naperville Police Department | Municipal | 186 | $90,965 | +$8,182 | #246 |
| 9 | Illinois State Police | State | 1,821 | $90,828 | +$8,045 | #251 |
| 10 | River Forest Police Department | Municipal | 26 | $90,106 | +$7,323 | #267 |
| 11 | Evanston Police Department | Municipal | 140 | $88,656 | +$5,874 | #292 |
| 12 | Elgin Police Department | Municipal | 203 | $88,274 | +$5,491 | #301 |
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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