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Topeka 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.
Topeka Police Department starts at $65,374 a year — about $31.43 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $1,893 below the median of the 2,053 agencies on this list, and $3,412 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Kansas run about 10% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $72,583 would somewhere at average prices — $7,209 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 71 against a national average of 100, where goods are 94. 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 isTopeka Police Department reported 273 sworn officers and 44 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.2 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 125,228.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 Topeka says about itself
To serve and protect our community with honor and integrity and uphold the rule of law through equitable policing and community partnership.
What Topeka does
The Topeka Police Department serves Topeka, Kansas, the state capital.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 18 September 2026. City of Topeka Police Department careers page — open the source document
Current page verified 18 September 2026; starting pay, $31.43/hr = $65,374/yr.
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 Topeka 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 | $68,786 | $163,619 | 1372 |
| County | $35,000 | $64,438 | $132,263 | 459 |
| Special jurisdiction | $31,200 | $60,204 | $107,954 | 71 |
| State | $33,994 | $65,400 | $110,916 | 144 |
| 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 $4,700 more than the middle municipal agency and about $9,100 more than the middle county agency and about $13,300 more than the middle special jurisdiction agency and about $8,100 more than the middle state agency and about $45,300 more than the middle territory agency. Topeka starts at $65,374, so $3,412 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Topeka Police Department officer make?
Topeka Police Department starts a new officer on $65,374 a year, about $31.43 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 Topeka Police Department careers page.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Kansas?
It ranks #4 of 15 agencies we have verified in Kansas — 11 pay less, 3 pay more in the state — and #1,135 of 2,053 nationally. Against the national median it is $1,893 below, and against other municipal agencies $3,412 below.
Compare with another department
Put Topeka 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 KS
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Topeka | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wichita Police Department | Municipal | 663 | $70,970 | +$5,596 | #810 |
| 2 | Kansas Highway Patrol | State | 467 | $68,182 | +$2,808 | #959 |
| 3 | Lenexa Police Department | Municipal | 93 | $66,013 | +$639 | #1,093 |
| 5 | Olathe Police Department | Municipal | 210 | $65,050 | −$324 | #1,155 |
| 6 | University of Kansas Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 28 | $60,180 | −$5,194 | #1,419 |
| 7 | Saline County Sheriff's Office | County | 41 | $57,866 | −$7,508 | #1,542 |
| 8 | Salina Police Department | Municipal | 71 | $57,741 | −$7,633 | #1,553 |
| 9 | Garden City Police Department | Municipal | 61 | $56,451 | −$8,923 | #1,615 |
| 10 | Junction City Police Department | Municipal | 47 | $53,747 | −$11,627 | #1,736 |
| 11 | Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks — Law Enforcement Division | State | — | $53,414 | −$11,960 | #1,752 |
| 12 | Wichita State University Police Department | Special jurisdiction | 28 | $49,254 | −$16,120 | #1,894 |
| 13 | Pittsburg Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $48,048 | −$17,326 | #1,922 |
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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