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University of South Carolina 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 South Carolina Police Department starts at $56,696 a year — about $27.26 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $9,989 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $3,508 below the median for special jurisdiction agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in South Carolina run about 6% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $60,476 would somewhere at average prices — $3,780 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 80 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 South Carolina Police Department reported 6 sworn officers and 7 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 South Carolina says about itself
The USC Division of Law Enforcement and Safety takes great pride in protecting and serving the Carolina Community and is committed to the safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors. We are professionals in law enforcement, compliance and professional standards, environmental health and safety.
What University of South Carolina does
The University of South Carolina Division of Law Enforcement and Safety runs three bureaus — Operations, Support Services and Administration — with patrol officers on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Its officers are appointed and commissioned as State Constables by the Governor of South Carolina with statewide authority, sit under the regulatory control of the Chief of SLED, and must be certified by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council. The division is accredited by CALEA, IACLEA and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Accreditation programme, and states its values as human life, integrity, excellence and accountability
Where the figure comes from
Checked 20 September 2026. University of South Carolina Division of Law Enforcement and Safety, Entry Salaries and Selection Process, effective 11 July 2025: "$56,696 - $82,381 (With Supplemental Pay for Shift Work and Depending on Experience/Educational Level)" — open the source document
$56,696 annual advertised minimum. Official State/University 2026 Police Officer recruitment publishes $56,696-$82,381 and explicitly describes entry-level hiring steps for non-certified applicants, including POST/PAT and academy/certification pathway; prior law-enforcement e RE-SOURCED 20 September 2026 off GovernmentJobs and onto the Division's own published document, which also DATES the figure: the Entry Salaries and Selection Process sheet is effective 11 July 2025 and gives $56,696 - $82,381, with supplemental pay for shift work and depending on experience and educational level. The figure itself is unchanged. THE ENTRY TEST: the Division publishes NO separate entry salary for non-certified applicants - they follow the same scale and simply take additional POST and PAT testing during hiring - and it prices certification as a $7,500 signing bonus for South Carolina certified officers rather than as a higher base. So the bottom of the band is what a candidate with no prior service is paid. $82,381 is the top and is a ceiling. The Division states the pay schedule is set for all sworn officers and is non-negotiable. Excluded: the shift-work supplement, the $7,500 certified signing bonus and the annual step increases. Probation is twelve months, or six for an applicant with prior state agency experience.
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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina starts at $56,696, so $3,508 below the special jurisdiction middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a University of South Carolina Police Department officer make?
University of South Carolina Police Department starts a new officer on $56,696 a year, about $27.26 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 South Carolina Division of Law Enforcement and Safety, Entry Salaries and Selection Process, effective 11 July 2025: "$56,696 - $82,381 (With Supplemental Pay for Shift Work and Depending on Experience/Educational Level)".
Is that good pay for a police officer in South Carolina?
It ranks #11 of 27 agencies we have verified in South Carolina — 16 pay less, 10 pay more in the state — and #1,767 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $9,989 below, and against other special jurisdiction agencies $3,508 below.
Compare with another department
Put University of South Carolina 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 SC
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs University | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Myrtle Beach Police Department | Municipal | 215 | $66,747 | +$10,051 | #1,142 |
| 2 | North Myrtle Beach Police Department | Municipal | 98 | $62,000 | +$5,304 | #1,449 |
| 3 | South Carolina Highway Patrol | State | 1,004 | $61,908 | +$5,212 | #1,454 |
| 4 | Horry County Police Department | County | — | $61,800 | +$5,104 | #1,461 |
| 5 | Rock Hill Police Department | Municipal | 148 | $61,331 | +$4,635 | #1,484 |
| 6 | York County Sheriff's Office | County | 223 | $61,081 | +$4,385 | #1,496 |
| 7 | Mount Pleasant Police Department | Municipal | 159 | $60,611 | +$3,915 | #1,526 |
| 8 | Greenville County Sheriff's Office | County | 576 | $59,273 | +$2,577 | #1,618 |
| 9 | Charleston Police Department | Municipal | 419 | $58,115 | +$1,419 | #1,671 |
| 10 | Greenville Police Department | Municipal | 219 | $57,353 | +$657 | #1,739 |
| 12 | North Charleston Police Department | Municipal | 308 | $56,078 | −$618 | #1,794 |
| 13 | Berkeley County Sheriff's Office | County | 305 | $55,975 | −$721 | #1,796 |
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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