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Vernal 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.
Vernal Police Department starts at $57,824 a year — about $27.80 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $8,861 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $10,316 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Utah run about 1% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $58,488 would somewhere at average prices — $664 more than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 79, 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 isVernal Police Department reported 27 sworn officers and 3 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.5 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 10,857.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 Vernal says about itself
It is the mission of the Vernal Police Department to strive for, and maintain a positive image for our community, while providing competent and fair law enforcement and public safety services for all.
What Vernal does
Vernal Police Department was incorporated in 1908, with divisions for Patrol, Detectives and School Resource Officers, officers assigned to the Uintah Basin Drug Task Force, and a canine unit with trained handlers, all under the Chief and Assistant Chief
Where the figure comes from
Checked 21 August 2026. Vernal City official “Police Officer 1 or Recruit” employment opportunity, opening 7 July 2026 (Salary Recruit: $27.80 per hour), corroborated by Ordinance 2026-18, FY2027 Compensation Schedule, grade PDG-1 — open the source document
Their source is effective 1 July 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.
Entry pay, 2021–2026
Every point is the entry-class annual base printed in the agency’s own pay document. Base pay only — no shift differential, incentives or allowances.
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How this level compares
Where Vernal 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. Vernal starts at $57,824, so $10,316 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Vernal Police Department officer make?
Vernal Police Department starts a new officer on $57,824 a year, about $27.80 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 Vernal City official “Police Officer 1 or Recruit” employment opportunity, opening 7 July 2026 (Salary Recruit: $27.80 per hour), corroborated by Ordinance 2026-18, FY2027 Compensation Schedule, grade PDG-1.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Utah?
It ranks #29 of 31 agencies we have verified in Utah — 2 pay less, 28 pay more in the state — and #1,699 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $8,861 below, and against other municipal agencies $10,316 below.
Compare with another department
Put Vernal 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 UT
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Vernal | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salt Lake City Police Department | Municipal | 589 | $76,315 | +$18,491 | #612 |
| 2 | Santa Clara Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,982 | +$18,158 | #629 |
| 3 | Taylorsville Police Department | Municipal | — | $75,941 | +$18,117 | #634 |
| 4 | Utah Highway Patrol | State | 536 | $75,878 | +$18,054 | #636 |
| 5 | Sandy Police Department | Municipal | 115 | $73,112 | +$15,288 | #753 |
| 6 | West Valley City Police Department | Municipal | — | $73,045 | +$15,221 | #757 |
| 7 | Cottonwood Heights Police Department | Municipal | 43 | $69,763 | +$11,939 | #958 |
| 8 | Murray City Police Department | Municipal | 82 | $68,890 | +$11,066 | #1,000 |
| 9 | Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake | Municipal | — | $68,099 | +$10,275 | #1,050 |
| 10 | South Salt Lake Police Department | Municipal | 71 | $66,997 | +$9,173 | #1,120 |
| 11 | Orem Police Department | Municipal | 94 | $66,768 | +$8,944 | #1,137 |
| 12 | Moab Police Department | Municipal | 19 | $66,747 | +$8,923 | #1,143 |
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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