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Vermont State Police 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.
Vermont State Police starts at $71,947 a year — about $34.59 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $3,557 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $6,950 above the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Vermont run about 2% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $73,447 would somewhere at average prices — $1,500 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 126, where goods are 97. 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 isVermont State Police reported 256 sworn officers 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 Vermont State says about itself
The state of Vermont is covered by 10 state police barracks. These barracks are organized into two troops.
What Vermont State does
The Vermont State Police was formed in 1947, replacing a county-based system in which elected sheriffs provided law enforcement to towns without their own departments. It covers the state from 10 barracks organised into two troops, with 332 sworn members and 64 emergency dispatchers, and is structured into Field Force, Criminal and Support Services divisions.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Vermont State Police official — Become a Trooper / Pay and Benefits — open the source document
$71,947.20. Current official VSP recruiting information; verified 8 August 2026
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 Vermont State 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. Vermont State starts at $71,947, so $6,949 above the state middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Vermont State Police officer make?
Vermont State Police starts a new officer on $71,947 a year, about $34.59 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 Vermont State Police official — Become a Trooper / Pay and Benefits.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Vermont?
It ranks #3 of 7 agencies we have verified in Vermont — 4 pay less, 2 pay more in the state — and #670 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $3,557 above, and against other state agencies $6,950 above.
Compare with another department
Put Vermont State Police 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 VT
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Vermont | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burlington Police Department | Municipal | 59 | $81,653 | +$9,706 | #356 |
| 2 | Montpelier Police Department | Municipal | 15 | $80,870 | +$8,923 | #385 |
| 4 | Colchester Police Department | Municipal | 27 | $66,560 | −$5,387 | #946 |
| 5 | South Burlington Police Department | Municipal | 33 | $64,668 | −$7,279 | #1,036 |
| 6 | Winooski Police Department | Municipal | 15 | $63,752 | −$8,195 | #1,070 |
| 7 | Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife — Vermont Warden Service | State | — | $58,344 | −$13,603 | #1,304 |
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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