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Virginia Division of Capitol 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.
Virginia Division of Capitol Police starts at $57,783 a year — about $27.78 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $8,902 below the median of the 2,288 agencies on this list, and $7,383 below the median for state agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Virginia run about 1% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $57,152 somewhere at average prices — $631 less than the headline figure. That average hides a wide spread: utilities at 92, where goods are 100. 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.
What Virginia Division of Capitol says about itself
The oldest police agency in the United States, dating to 1618 at Jamestown, Va., where we served as the Public Guard, a military unit of 10 men, to protect Gov. George Yeardley.
What Virginia Division of Capitol does
The Virginia Division of Capitol Police protects the seat of Virginia's government in Richmond, and describes its officers as serving not only as police officers but as ambassadors to the seat of Virginia's government. It calls itself the oldest police agency in the United States, dating to 1618 at Jamestown, where it served as the Public Guard, a military unit of ten men, to protect Governor George Yeardley. New recruits undergo 25 weeks of training at the Crater Criminal Justice Training Academy in Disputanta, and lateral transfers from other state agencies are offered comparable salaries based on tenure.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 21 September 2026. Virginia Division of Capitol Police, Employment Opportunities: "Starting salary for new recruits is $52,530, with an increase to $57,783 after completion of all training requirements." — open the source document
$57,783 is the Division's own annual figure and no arithmetic has been applied to it. The Division prices the rank twice in a single sentence - $52,530 for new recruits, rising to $57,783 after completion of all training requirements - and the post-training figure is the one taken; the recruit rate is barred, the same reading applied to West Virginia State Police, Knoxville, Harrisonburg and Bixby. Prior sworn service is not required to reach it: all new recruits undergo 25 weeks of training at the Crater Criminal Justice Training Academy in Disputanta, and the Division says it is looking for new AND certified officers, with lateral transfers from other state agencies receiving comparable salary offers based on tenure - a separate route. Excluded: the $10,000 bonus attached to the Police Officer Recruit position. THE FIGURE CARRIES NO EFFECTIVE DATE. NEXT DOCUMENT: the Commonwealth's pay band schedule for the Division. NOTE ON KIND: recorded as State patrol, to match every other state capitol police force already on the roster - Delaware, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island are all classified that way. It was first written as Special jurisdiction, which the build rejected because that tier requires a subtype and none of the existing subtypes - Campus, Transit, School district, Airport, Constable, Parks, Hospital - fits a capitol police force. It is not the Virginia State Police, which is a separate agency. ORI SET BY HAND: the FBI roster carries this agency as 'Virginia State Capitol', type Other State Agency, ORI VA1220300 - no automatic name match was possible.
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 Virginia Division of Capitol 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. Virginia Division of Capitol starts at $57,783, so $7,383 below the state middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Virginia Division of Capitol Police officer make?
Virginia Division of Capitol Police starts a new officer on $57,783 a year, about $27.78 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 Virginia Division of Capitol Police, Employment Opportunities: "Starting salary for new recruits is $52,530, with an increase to $57,783 after completion of all training requirements.".
Is that good pay for a police officer in Virginia?
It ranks #28 of 42 agencies we have verified in Virginia — 14 pay less, 27 pay more in the state — and #1,703 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $8,902 below, and against other state agencies $7,383 below.
Compare with another department
Put Virginia Division of Capitol 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 VA
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Virginia | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arlington County Police Department | County | 299 | $90,012 | +$32,229 | #269 |
| 2 | Falls Church Police Department | Municipal | 32 | $76,400 | +$18,617 | #605 |
| 3 | Alexandria Police Department | Municipal | 264 | $75,000 | +$17,217 | #677 |
| 4 | Fairfax County Police Department | County | 1,390 | $74,035 | +$16,252 | #716 |
| 5 | Prince William County Police Department | County | 656 | $74,000 | +$16,217 | #718 |
| 6 | Loudoun County Sheriff's Office | County | 648 | $70,955 | +$13,172 | #884 |
| 7 | Leesburg Police Department | Municipal | 74 | $68,500 | +$10,717 | #1,017 |
| 8 | Manassas Police Department | Municipal | 99 | $68,453 | +$10,670 | #1,024 |
| 9 | Prince William County Sheriff's Office | County | — | $66,596 | +$8,813 | #1,151 |
| 10 | Henrico County Police Division | County | 628 | $65,959 | +$8,176 | #1,188 |
| 11 | Fairfax County Sheriff's Office | County | 433 | $64,997 | +$7,214 | #1,263 |
| 12 | Fredericksburg Police Department | Municipal | 71 | $64,000 | +$6,217 | #1,319 |
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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