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Watauga 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.
Watauga Police Department starts at $75,994 a year — about $36.54 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $7,604 above the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $4,730 above the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in Texas run about 3% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $78,298 would somewhere at average prices — $2,304 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.
How big the department isWatauga Police Department reported 34 sworn officers and 15 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 1.5 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 23,003.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 Watauga
Watauga Police Officers assigned to Patrol work under a Police Corporal and perform professional law-enforcement work protecting life and property, enforcing laws, responding to calls and providing public-safety services
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of Watauga official 2026 Police Offi — open the source document
Current recruitment opened 8 July 2026; official Police Officer Step 1/minimum is $75,994 annually. Education/certification pay and other add-ons are 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 Watauga 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. Watauga starts at $75,994, so $4,707 above the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a Watauga Police Department officer make?
Watauga Police Department starts a new officer on $75,994 a year, about $36.54 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 Watauga official 2026 Police Offi.
Is that good pay for a police officer in Texas?
It ranks #51 of 140 agencies we have verified in Texas — 89 pay less, 50 pay more in the state — and #517 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $7,604 above, and against other municipal agencies $4,730 above.
Compare with another department
Put Watauga 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 Watauga | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Police Department | Municipal | 153 | $91,106 | +$15,112 | #192 |
| 2 | Frisco Police Department | Municipal | 270 | $90,750 | +$14,756 | #200 |
| 3 | Plano Police Department | Municipal | 414 | $90,729 | +$14,735 | #201 |
| 4 | Grand Prairie Police Department | Municipal | 287 | $90,000 | +$14,006 | #216 |
| 5 | Hurst Police Department | Municipal | — | $87,048 | +$11,054 | #264 |
| 6 | Lewisville Police Department | Municipal | 181 | $86,268 | +$10,274 | #276 |
| 7 | Coppell Police Department | Municipal | 60 | $84,968 | +$8,974 | #293 |
| 8 | Rockwall Police Department | Municipal | 95 | $84,448 | +$8,454 | #300 |
| 9 | The Colony Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,082 | +$8,088 | #306 |
| 10 | Baytown Police Department | Municipal | — | $84,049 | +$8,055 | #307 |
| 11 | McKinney Police Department | Municipal | 248 | $83,992 | +$7,998 | #309 |
| 12 | Mesquite Police Department | Municipal | 260 | $83,869 | +$7,875 | #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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