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University of Kentucky 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 of Kentucky Police Department starts at $63,200 a year — about $30.38 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $3,485 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $2,996 above the median for special jurisdiction agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Kentucky run about 10% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $70,098 would somewhere at average prices — $6,898 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 64 against a national average of 100, where goods are 96. 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 of Kentucky Police Department reported 76 sworn officers and 134 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025.No rate is shown: this agency does not police a single population the FBI publishes a figure for. 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 of Kentucky says about itself
UK police officers are highly trained, certified and sworn under KRS 164.950.
What University of Kentucky does
University of Kentucky Police provide patrol, law enforcement, criminal investigation, community relations, court testimony and public-safety services to the University community.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 6 September 2026. University of Kentucky Police Department — Current Job Openings, Police Recruit — open the source document
The Department's own current job openings page, read 6 September 2026: starting pay for a Police Recruit is estimated at $63,200, increasing with education and related experience, and the recruit salary rises by $4,562 on graduation from the police training academy - the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program Fund stipend, which is excluded here as an add-on. Supersedes the $47,278.40 the row carried, which was the bottom of the $22.73-$37.50 hourly band on a 2026 UK jobs posting; the department's own recruitment page states the figure directly and is the better source. The separate lateral route pays $68,600 to $83,200 on education and experience, so the recruit figure is the no-experience one
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 of Kentucky 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. University of Kentucky starts at $63,200, so $2,996 above the special jurisdiction middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a University of Kentucky Police Department officer make?
University of Kentucky Police Department starts a new officer on $63,200 a year, about $30.38 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 University of Kentucky Police Department — Current Job Openings, Police Recruit.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Kentucky?
It ranks #7 of 15 agencies we have verified in Kentucky — 8 pay less, 6 pay more in the state — and #1,371 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $3,485 below, and against other special jurisdiction agencies $2,996 above.
Compare with another department
Put University of Kentucky 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 KY
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs University | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky State Police | State | 1,078 | $71,000 | +$7,800 | #877 |
| 2 | Louisville Metro Police Department | Municipal | 1,013 | $66,760 | +$3,560 | #1,138 |
| 3 | Paducah Police Department | Municipal | 68 | $65,146 | +$1,946 | #1,246 |
| 4 | Lexington Police Department | Municipal | 541 | $64,424 | +$1,224 | #1,293 |
| 5 | Richmond Police Department | Municipal | 65 | $63,988 | +$788 | #1,320 |
| 6 | Bowling Green Police Department | Municipal | 140 | $63,839 | +$639 | #1,329 |
| 8 | Owensboro Police Department | Municipal | 101 | $62,254 | −$946 | #1,432 |
| 9 | Kenton County Police Department | Municipal | 41 | $57,699 | −$5,501 | #1,715 |
| 10 | Elizabethtown Police Department | Municipal | 77 | $57,200 | −$6,000 | #1,745 |
| 11 | Georgetown Police Department | Municipal | 75 | $55,345 | −$7,855 | #1,830 |
| 12 | Henderson Police Department | Municipal | 58 | $51,778 | −$11,422 | #2,001 |
| 13 | Hopkinsville Police Department | Municipal | 72 | $51,239 | −$11,961 | #2,025 |
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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