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United States Capitol Police 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.
United States Capitol Police starts at $86,530 a year — about $41.60 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $18,140 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $13,028 above the median for federal agencies.
What United States Capitol says about itself
Our mission is clear: to defend democracy, the U.S. Capitol, and the Congress.
What United States Capitol does
The United States Capitol Police protect the Congress, its members, staff and visitors, and the Capitol complex itself. It is a legislative-branch force of about 2,700 officers and civilian staff whose work runs from patrolling the grounds to dignitary protection, a K-9 unit, a bomb squad and intelligence operations, and it screens roughly 1.4 million visitors and handles more than 9,000 threat assessment cases a year. Recruits train for about 37 weeks.
United States Capitol’s rotation, in BlueShifts
The overwhelming majority of USCP officers work five days on and two off, on one of three shifts — 7am to 3pm, 3pm to 11pm, or 11pm to 7am — and officers can change shift, division or hours several times a year through the department's voluntary reassignment programme.
The rotation template screen — enter the cycle and the start date, and you are done.
WorkingOff
Every month, already filled in — no typing, however far ahead you look.
September 2026
United States Capitol publishes the days on and off but not which are days and which are nights. In BlueShifts you choose that yourself — every shift can be a day, a night or a 24-hour tour, and the calendar marks it with a sun, a moon or a clock.
Five and two keeps your days off on the same weekdays — until the voluntary reassignment moves you to a different watch and the whole thing shifts. BlueShifts holds the pattern, marks days and nights differently, and rebuilds when your assignment changes.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 19 August 2026. United States Capitol Police — Careers, published salary — open the source document
$86,530. USCP's own careers page; page updated 5 March 2026, checked 19 August 2026
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.
BlueShifts. Plan Your Year. Own Your Time.
The shift calendar built for your rotation, off-duty work, and life on and off the clock.
Save your shift schedule once and BlueShifts fills the rest of the year in.
How this level compares
Where United States Capitol 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. United States Capitol starts at $86,530, so $13,028 above the federal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a United States Capitol Police officer make?
United States Capitol Police starts a new officer on $86,530 a year, about $41.60 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 United States Capitol Police — Careers, published salary.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Federal?
It ranks #1 of 5 agencies we have verified in Federal — the highest in the state in the state — and #272 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $18,140 above, and against other federal agencies $13,028 above.
What shifts do United States Capitol Police officers work?
The overwhelming majority of USCP officers work five days on and two off, on one of three shifts — 7am to 3pm, 3pm to 11pm, or 11pm to 7am — and officers can change shift, division or hours several times a year through the department's voluntary reassignment programme. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
The agencies either side of it
Other agencies in US
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs United | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Supreme Court of the United States Police | Federal | — | $83,362 | −$3,168 | #327 |
| 3 | United States Secret Service — Uniformed Division | Federal | — | $73,502 | −$13,028 | #610 |
| 4 | United States Park Police | Federal | — | $73,177 | −$13,353 | #618 |
| 5 | Pentagon Force Protection Agency — Pentagon Police | Federal | — | $70,477 | −$16,053 | #748 |
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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