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St. Joseph 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.
St. Joseph Police Department starts at $49,999 a year — about $24.04 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $18,391 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $21,265 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in St. Joseph, MO-KS run about 14% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $57,881 would somewhere at average prices — $7,882 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 55 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. Based on price levels for this metropolitan 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.
What St. Joseph says about itself
The St. Joseph Police Department's mission is to provide protection and service through strong community partnerships. The Department is focused on the fundamental pillars of organizational excellence, community engagement, and precision policing.
What St. Joseph does
St. Joseph Police Department recruits Police Officers on a continual basis for municipal law-enforcement service.
Shifts at St. Joseph
The Patrol Division operates 24 hours a day, patrolling 432 miles of city streets, and oversees K-9, Traffic, Special Event Coordination, Special Response Team, Crisis Negotiations, Field Training, Court Marshal and School Resource Officer assignments.
Collateral assignments stack on top of the patrol tour - a call-out or a court date lands on a day the roster already spoke for. BlueShifts keeps both on one calendar.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 10 August 2026. City of St. Joseph Police working-agreement/financial-report materials and current Police recruitment — open the source document
Official City financial-report material states the Police/FOP compensation plan increased Police Officer starting salary to $49,999 and that the working agreement automatically renews annually after January 1, 2026. Current City recruitment remains active and no superseding authorized salary schedule was located; $49,999 is retained. Class: Police Officer. Trainee class: Applicants may obtain POST certification after a contingent offer; appointment is to Police Officer. City recruitment continuously accepts Police Officer applications and requires POST certification as part of the appointment process.
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 St. Joseph 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. St. Joseph starts at $49,999, so $21,288 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a St. Joseph Police Department officer make?
St. Joseph Police Department starts a new officer on $49,999 a year, about $24.04 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 St. Joseph Police working-agreement/financial-report materials and current Police recruitment.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Missouri?
It ranks #23 of 27 agencies we have verified in Missouri — 4 pay less, 22 pay more in the state — and #1,569 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $18,391 below, and against other municipal agencies $21,265 below.
What shifts do St. Joseph Police Department officers work?
The Patrol Division operates 24 hours a day, patrolling 432 miles of city streets, and oversees K-9, Traffic, Special Event Coordination, Special Response Team, Crisis Negotiations, Field Training, Court Marshal and School Resource Officer assignments. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put St. Joseph 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 MO
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs St. | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Creve Coeur Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $71,329 | +$21,330 | #707 |
| 2 | Liberty Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $70,000 | +$20,001 | #772 |
| 3 | Kansas City Missouri Police Department | Municipal | 1,119 | $68,928 | +$18,929 | #819 |
| 4 | O'Fallon Police Department | Municipal | 118 | $67,454 | +$17,455 | #898 |
| 5 | Brentwood Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $67,418 | +$17,419 | #900 |
| 6 | St. Charles County Police Department | County | 35 | $66,060 | +$16,061 | #962 |
| 7 | Missouri State Highway Patrol | State | 1,134 | $65,400 | +$15,401 | #998 |
| 8 | Riverside Police Department | Municipal | 25 | $65,000 | +$15,001 | #1,022 |
| 9 | Ferguson Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $64,316 | +$14,317 | #1,052 |
| 10 | Gladstone Police Department | Municipal | 31 | $63,560 | +$13,561 | #1,077 |
| 11 | Ballwin Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $63,508 | +$13,509 | #1,081 |
| 12 | St. Louis County Police Department | County | 843 | $63,003 | +$13,004 | #1,110 |
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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