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West Fargo 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.
West Fargo Police Department starts at $64,376 a year — about $30.95 an hour on a 2,080-hour year, before overtime. That is $4,014 below the median of the 1,681 agencies on this list, and $6,888 below the median for municipal agencies.
Cost of livingPrices in North Dakota run about 11% below the national average, so this goes about as far as $72,366 would somewhere at average prices — $7,990 more than the headline figure. Most of that is rent, at 71 against a national average of 100, 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 isWest Fargo Police Department reported 83 sworn officers and 15 civilian staff to the FBI for 2025. That is 2.0 officers per 1,000 residents, over a population of 41,577.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 West Fargo
West Fargo Police Department says its mission is to protect life and property effectively and efficiently while engaging the community in collaborative crime prevention. It uses organizational and problem-solving strategies and police-community partnerships to address the causes of crime and social disorder, with integrity, fairness, accountability and honesty central to its values
Where the figure comes from
Checked 8 August 2026. City of West Fargo official Pol — open the source document
Opened 1 June 2026; official recruit/entry Police Officer rate $30.95/hour = $64,376 annually. The posting accepts academy graduates and non-graduates and does not publish a separate immediate post-academy increase
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 West Fargo 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. West Fargo starts at $64,376, so $6,911 below the municipal middle.
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How it ranks
Common questions
How much does a West Fargo Police Department officer make?
West Fargo Police Department starts a new officer on $64,376 a year, about $30.95 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 West Fargo official Pol.
Is that good pay for a police officer in North Dakota?
It ranks #6 of 9 agencies we have verified in North Dakota — 3 pay less, 5 pay more in the state — and #1,046 of 1,681 nationally. Against the national median it is $4,014 below, and against other municipal agencies $6,888 below.
Compare with another department
Put West Fargo 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 ND
| # | Agency | Level | Sworn # | Entry pay | Vs West | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota Highway Patrol | State | 165 | $73,332 | +$8,956 | #614 |
| 2 | Grand Forks Police Department | Municipal | 91 | $69,326 | +$4,950 | #797 |
| 3 | Fargo Police Department | Municipal | 185 | $68,494 | +$4,118 | #836 |
| 4 | North Dakota Game and Fish Department — Enforcement Division | State | — | $65,808 | +$1,432 | #977 |
| 5 | Williston Police Department | Municipal | 64 | $65,520 | +$1,144 | #990 |
| 7 | Bismarck Police Department | Municipal | 128 | $63,123 | −$1,253 | #1,104 |
| 8 | Richland County Sheriff's Office | County | 18 | $62,213 | −$2,163 | #1,148 |
| 9 | Dickinson Police Department | Municipal | 44 | $60,345 | −$4,031 | #1,220 |
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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