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Vermillion 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.

Vermillion Police Department starts at $57,491 a year — about $27.64 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $9,194 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $10,649 below the median for municipal agencies.

Cost of livingPrices in South Dakota run about 11% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $64,899 would somewhere at average prices — $7,408 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 68 against a national average of 100, where goods are 95. 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 isVermillion Police Department reported 19 sworn officers and 3 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.6 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 11,916.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 Vermillion says about itself

To serve as Guardians of the Vermillion community while building strong partnerships and preserving the dignity of those we serve.

What Vermillion does

The Vermillion Police Department is the municipal force for the City of Vermillion, the seat of Clay County and home of the University of South Dakota. It runs patrol, criminal investigations, school resource and bicycle patrol units.

Where the figure comes from

Checked 25 September 2026. Vermillion Police Department, Recruitment page: "Step 2: Certified OR Bachelor's degree (2025): $27.64/hr or $57,491/yr". — open the source document
The department prints three hiring steps: Step 1 for a non-certified hire ($56,076), Step 2 for a hire who is certified or holds a bachelor's degree ($57,491), and Step 3 for both. Step 2 is the first rate a certified officer is paid, so it is the figure; Step 1 is paid before the academy, which new hires must attend within a year. The annual is used as printed. THE RATES ARE LABELLED 2025 and the department describes a 12-step scale with annual cost-of-living adjustments, so a 2026 rate may exist; no 2026 pay plan was found on the City's site. Excluded: benefits.
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 Vermillion sits is partly about the agency and partly about which level of policing it belongs to. The three levels do not pay the same.

LevelLowestMedianHighestAgencies
Municipal$33,280$68,140$163,6191549
County$35,000$63,565$132,263516
Special jurisdiction$31,200$60,204$107,95471
State$33,994$65,166$110,916145
Federal$70,477$73,502$86,5305
Territory$16,640$28,236$43,3549
What this shows

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. Vermillion starts at $57,491, so $10,649 below the municipal middle.

How it ranks

Nationally #1,728of 2,288 agencies Top 76% of everything we have verified
In SD #12of 18 agencies 6 pay less, 11 pay more
Hourly to start $28on a 2,080-hour year Base pay only, before overtime or any differential

Common questions

How much does a Vermillion Police Department officer make?

Vermillion Police Department starts a new officer on $57,491 a year, about $27.64 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 Vermillion Police Department, Recruitment page: "Step 2: Certified OR Bachelor's degree (2025): $27.64/hr or $57,491/yr"..

Is that good pay for a police officer in South Dakota?

It ranks #12 of 18 agencies we have verified in South Dakota — 6 pay less, 11 pay more in the state — and #1,728 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $9,194 below, and against other municipal agencies $10,649 below.

Compare with another department

Put Vermillion 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.

Compare Vermillion

The agencies either side of it

Other agencies in SD

Go
#AgencyLevelSworn #Entry payVs VermillionNational
1Sioux Falls Police DepartmentMunicipal284$72,030+$14,539#810
2Rapid City Police DepartmentMunicipal157$70,491+$13,000#907
3Spearfish Police DepartmentMunicipal19$68,307+$10,816#1,035
4Pierre Police DepartmentMunicipal20$68,307+$10,816#1,036
5Minnehaha County Sheriff's OfficeCounty86$66,893+$9,402#1,128
6South Dakota Highway PatrolState150$64,251+$6,760#1,306
7Mitchell Police DepartmentMunicipal26$63,492+$6,001#1,350
8Pennington County Sheriff's OfficeCounty217$63,357+$5,866#1,361
9Aberdeen Police DepartmentMunicipal54$62,587+$5,096#1,404
10Yankton Police DepartmentMunicipal30$58,253+$762#1,659
11Edmunds County Sheriff's OfficeCounty8$58,136+$645#1,668
13Brown County Sheriff's OfficeCounty21$55,578−$1,913#1,816

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