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University Heights 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.
University Heights Police Department starts at $82,259 a year — about $39.55 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $13,869 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $10,995 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Ohio run about 7% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $88,666 would somewhere at average prices — $6,407 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 73 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 isUniversity Heights Police Department reported 29 sworn officers and 2 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.2 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 13,111.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 University Heights says about itself
The Mission of the University Heights Police Department is to deliver superior and ethical services with professionalism, respect, integrity, dedication and excellence. DESCRIPTION: The University Heights Police Department works as guardians in partnership with the community to enhance quality of life, deter crime, preserve peace and enforce the law.
What University Heights does
University Heights Police Department says its mission is to deliver superior and ethical services with professionalism, respect, integrity, dedication and excellence, working as guardians in partnership with the community to enhance quality of life, deter crime, preserve peace and enforce the law
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of University Heights Police Department off — open the source document
Official 2026 department recruitment information lists entry-level Police Officer starting salary $82,259
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.
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How this level compares
Where University Heights 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. University Heights starts at $82,259, so $10,972 above the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a University Heights Police Department officer make?
University Heights Police Department starts a new officer on $82,259 a year, about $39.55 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 University Heights Police Department off.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Ohio?
It ranks #2 of 40 agencies we have verified in Ohio — 38 pay less, 1 pay more in the state — and #343 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $13,869 above, and against other municipal agencies $10,995 above.
Compare with another department
Put University Heights 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 OH
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs University | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Westlake Police Department | Municipal | — | $88,712 | +$6,453 | #236 |
| 3 | Powell Police Department | Municipal | 21 | $81,426 | −$833 | #364 |
| 4 | Stow Police Department | Municipal | 45 | $80,288 | −$1,971 | #404 |
| 5 | Cincinnati Police Department | Municipal | 971 | $79,359 | −$2,900 | #423 |
| 6 | Canfield Police Department | Municipal | 21 | $79,002 | −$3,257 | #428 |
| 7 | Mentor Police Department | Municipal | — | $77,849 | −$4,410 | #461 |
| 8 | Beavercreek Police Department | Municipal | 53 | $76,918 | −$5,341 | #482 |
| 9 | Grandview Heights Division of Police | Municipal | 24 | $76,708 | −$5,551 | #487 |
| 10 | Shaker Heights Police Department | Municipal | 68 | $76,566 | −$5,693 | #493 |
| 11 | Centerville Police Department | Municipal | 37 | $75,608 | −$6,651 | #533 |
| 12 | Delaware Police Department | Municipal | 56 | $75,254 | −$7,005 | #548 |
| 13 | New Albany Police Department | Municipal | 30 | $73,633 | −$8,626 | #607 |
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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