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Waco 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.
Waco Police Department starts at $68,423 a year — about $32.90 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $33 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $2,841 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Texas run about 3% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $70,498 would somewhere at average prices — $2,075 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 Waco
Waco Police Department covers more than 85 square miles under a chief and three assistant chiefs heading Patrol Operations, Investigations and Support Services, with sworn strength in the mid-200s alongside about 100 civilian staff running crime analysis, crime scene, victim services and dispatch. Officers work a four-day week of ten-hour shifts, and the department runs its own police academy
Waco’s rotation, in BlueShifts
Waco officers work a four-day week of ten-hour shifts, and the department runs its own police academy.
The rotation template screen — enter the cycle and the start date, and you are done.
WorkingOff
Every month, already filled in — no typing, however far ahead you look.
September 2026
This cycle has its own page: how it works, and how to build it.
Waco publishes the days on and off but not which are days and which are nights. In BlueShifts you choose that yourself — every shift can be a day, a night or a 24-hour tour, and the calendar marks it with a sun, a moon or a clock.
Four tens leaves a three-day block that lands differently each month. BlueShifts builds it out a year at a time so the family calendar and the roster agree.
Where the figure comes from
Checked 20 August 2026. City of Waco official applicant portal — Police Recruit / Entry Level Police Officer posting 2026-01159 — open the source document
City of Waco's own applicant portal (careers/wacotx), posting 2026-01159 'Police Recruit and Entry Level Police Officer', opened 18 May 2026, exam 18 July 2026: "Starting Pay: $32.8959 per hour" = $68,423.47 a year on 2,080 hours. ONE FIGURE COVERS BOTH ROUTES NOW. Waco used to quote two — in 2023 it was Police Recruit $22.97/hr with Qualifying Officer Pay $30.94 to $35.87 — but the current posting merges recruit and entry-level officer under a single starting rate, so this is what a hire with no prior service is paid. No prior service is required, and this is not a lateral rate: the posting requires TCOLE certification within 12 months of the eligibility exam and admits applicants who have never served as a commissioned peace officer. Class: Police Recruit and Entry Level Police Officer — one merged rate | Post-academy: no separate class, the current posting prices both routes at a single starting rate of $32.8959 an hour.
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.
BlueShifts. Plan Your Year. Own Your Time.
The shift calendar built for your rotation, off-duty work, and life on and off the clock.
Save your shift schedule once and BlueShifts fills the rest of the year in.
How this level compares
Where Waco 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. Waco starts at $68,423, so $2,864 below the municipal middle.
How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Waco Police Department officer make?
Waco Police Department starts a new officer on $68,423 a year, about $32.90 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 City of Waco official applicant portal — Police Recruit / Entry Level Police Officer posting 2026-01159.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Texas?
It ranks #92 of 140 agencies we have verified in Texas — 48 pay less, 91 pay more in the state — and #840 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $33 above, and against other municipal agencies $2,841 below.
What shifts do Waco Police Department officers work?
Waco officers work a four-day week of ten-hour shifts, and the department runs its own police academy. That is the agency's own published wording; the pattern is drawn on this page.
Compare with another department
Put Waco 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 Waco | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Police Department | Municipal | 153 | $91,106 | +$22,683 | #192 |
| 2 | Frisco Police Department | Municipal | 270 | $90,750 | +$22,327 | #200 |
| 3 | Plano Police Department | Municipal | 414 | $90,729 | +$22,306 | #201 |
| 4 | Grand Prairie Police Department | Municipal | 287 | $90,000 | +$21,577 | #216 |
| 5 | Hurst Police Department | Municipal | — | $87,048 | +$18,625 | #264 |
| 6 | Lewisville Police Department | Municipal | 181 | $86,268 | +$17,845 | #276 |
| 7 | Coppell Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $84,968 | +$16,545 | #293 |
| 8 | Rockwall Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $84,448 | +$16,025 | #300 |
| 9 | The Colony Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,082 | +$15,658 | #306 |
| 10 | Baytown Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,049 | +$15,626 | #307 |
| 11 | McKinney Police Department | Municipal | 248 | $83,992 | +$15,569 | #309 |
| 12 | Mesquite Police Department | Municipal | 260 | $83,869 | +$15,445 | #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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