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University of Texas at Arlington 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 Texas at Arlington Police Department starts at $63,000 a year — about $30.29 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $5,390 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $2,805 above the median for special jurisdiction agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Texas run about 3% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $64,910 would somewhere at average prices — $1,910 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 88, where goods are 98. 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.
About University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington Police Department is the sworn force for one of the largest campuses in the UT System, in the middle of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Like most Texas campus forces it runs its own cadet route: a recruit with no license is hired as a Police Cadet, sent through a TCOLE basic peace officer course, and moves onto the officer ladder on passing. The published ladder runs four officer grades before promotion, which is a longer graded track than most municipal departments of comparable size offer. Employees are eligible for tuition assistance and a dependent scholarship for degree programmes and classes — a benefit particular to campus policing.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 20 August 2026. University of Texas at Arlington — Police Department, Salary and Benefits — open the source document
UTA Police Department's own Salary and Benefits page, which publishes the whole ladder: Police Officer / Police Cadet $62,000 starting as a cadet, $63,000 after successful completion of the TCOLE basic peace officer course, then Police Officer I $65,000, II $72,000, III $75,000 and IV $79,000. The $63,000 post-academy rate is the entry figure; the $62,000 cadet rate is the pre-license class and is excluded, as it is everywhere else on the site. No prior service is required, and this is not a lateral rate: the department hires cadets who are not yet licensed and sends them through the academy, and prices lateral officers separately — officers with prior experience may be compensated based on that 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 Texas at Arlington 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 of Texas at Arlington starts at $63,000, so $2,805 above the special jurisdiction middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a University of Texas at Arlington Police Department officer make?
University of Texas at Arlington Police Department starts a new officer on $63,000 a year, about $30.29 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 Texas at Arlington — Police Department, Salary and Benefits.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Texas?
It ranks #106 of 140 agencies we have verified in Texas — 34 pay less, 105 pay more in the state — and #1,114 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $5,390 below, and against other special jurisdiction agencies $2,805 above.
Compare with another department
Put University of Texas at Arlington 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 TX
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs University | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Police Department | Municipal | 153 | $91,106 | +$28,106 | #192 |
| 2 | Frisco Police Department | Municipal | 270 | $90,750 | +$27,750 | #200 |
| 3 | Plano Police Department | Municipal | 414 | $90,729 | +$27,729 | #201 |
| 4 | Grand Prairie Police Department | Municipal | 287 | $90,000 | +$27,000 | #216 |
| 5 | Hurst Police Department | Municipal | — | $87,048 | +$24,048 | #264 |
| 6 | Lewisville Police Department | Municipal | 181 | $86,268 | +$23,268 | #276 |
| 7 | Coppell Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $84,968 | +$21,968 | #293 |
| 8 | Rockwall Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $84,448 | +$21,448 | #300 |
| 9 | The Colony Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,082 | +$21,082 | #306 |
| 10 | Baytown Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,049 | +$21,049 | #307 |
| 11 | McKinney Police Department | Municipal | 248 | $83,992 | +$20,992 | #309 |
| 12 | Mesquite Police Department | Municipal | 260 | $83,869 | +$20,869 | #312 |
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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