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Wallingford 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.
Wallingford Police Department starts at $71,448 a year — about $34.35 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $3,058 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $184 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Connecticut run about 4% above the national average, so this is worth roughly $68,959 somewhere at average prices — $2,489 less than the headline figure. Most of that is utilities, at 146 against a national average of 100, 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 isWallingford Police Department reported 73 sworn officers and 21 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.6 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 44,353.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.
About Wallingford
Wallingford Police Department employs sworn officers in municipal law enforcement and specialty units and states its goal is a community free from fear of crime where residents can enjoy a high quality of life
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. Town of Wallingford official 2026 Police Officer (Entry Level) — open the source document
Opened 16 January 2026. Entry-level Police Officers must start at Step 1, $34.35/hour = $71,448 annually at 2,080 hours. Higher steps and specialty compensation excluded
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.
How this level compares
Where Wallingford 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. Wallingford starts at $71,448, so $161 above the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Wallingford Police Department officer make?
Wallingford Police Department starts a new officer on $71,448 a year, about $34.35 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 Town of Wallingford official 2026 Police Officer (Entry Level).
Is that good pay for a police officer in Connecticut?
It ranks #7 of 11 agencies we have verified in Connecticut — 4 pay less, 6 pay more in the state — and #697 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $3,058 above, and against other municipal agencies $184 above.
Compare with another department
Put Wallingford 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 CT
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs Wallingford | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Windsor Police Department | Municipal | 41 | $87,483 | +$16,035 | #256 |
| 2 | Norwalk Police Department | Municipal | 184 | $82,116 | +$10,668 | #346 |
| 3 | Milford Police Department | Municipal | 105 | $81,237 | +$9,789 | #371 |
| 4 | Greenwich Police Department | Municipal | 142 | $78,704 | +$7,256 | #433 |
| 5 | Connecticut State Police | State | 955 | $75,367 | +$3,919 | #543 |
| 6 | Stamford Police Department | Municipal | 278 | $72,881 | +$1,433 | #630 |
| 8 | Danbury Police Department | Municipal | 156 | $68,499 | −$2,949 | #835 |
| 9 | East Hartford Police Department | Municipal | 114 | $67,696 | −$3,752 | #878 |
| 10 | Hartford Police Department | Municipal | 373 | $67,464 | −$3,984 | #895 |
| 11 | Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection — Environmental Conservation Police | State | — | $53,684 | −$17,764 | #1,481 |
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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